


The Halo Effect: War and Civilization.

by FreeManWriter



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:15:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 83,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27397804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreeManWriter/pseuds/FreeManWriter
Summary: A crossover years in the works that is of gargantuan proportions in terms of scope. Spanning multiple decades with three franchises, ensemble cast with multiple story arcs that will take you on a very long journey. Halo/Mass Effect/Star Wars Mega Crossover. Co-written and created with BulletStormX.
Relationships: to be revealed
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Human Timeline and First Contact

**What's up Bitcheeeeeessss.**

**Now when I say that this story has been a long time coming, that my dear ladies and gentlemen would be an understatement.**

**This has been in the works for years now it just needed time to take shape.**

**I have been wanting to do this for years now, years. I have read so many of the Mass Effect/Halo crossovers, taking a great many deal of inspiration from some of the top tier stuff like Spartan effect, New origins V2, Clash of Civilizations, The Last Spartan, The Unknown Defender and so on.**

**For me, when I began to really form into my own on this site, the main priority above all else was always to do something different something with a new flare that has not been seen before at least that's what i would like to believe that I'm doing. There's always some familiarity to the story as the structure and outline is there but execution, what you see and how the story goes about itself, that is the defining factor. I'm kinda rambling here but I hope you'll see and understand what I'm getting at.**

**I have my main comrades who have always been a great help for me and my ideas, BulletStormX, Jebest4781 and Thunderstruck60 as per usual so I thank them a great deal especially BulletStormX for this crossover in particular. The two of us spoke extensively on a variety of Halo/Mass Effect crossovers with this one being at the forefront for quite some time now.**

**This story will be an AU where certain events will play out differently and to be quite honest, while a great many ideas have been established the endgame is where it all comes down to that I don't know how to do. This is a very grandiose story spanning decades covering multiple story lines, both canon from both universes and original with multiple characters in play. Just forewarning you when the madness occurs.**

**But to be honest, I think I've said what I needed to for this moment. More will come to me when the time comes and either I would have formed an idea or I can look to you my readers for aid because some of my best ideas formed from some of the reviews and PMs you guys have given me which has been a great boon.**

**Right now, that's all.**

**Rate Read and Review and As Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect: War and Civilization Chapter 1: Human Timeline and First Contact

**1945:** World War II comes to a close. The United Nations is formed. In order to prevent future wars and catastrophes a greater degree of consolidation of power is placed into the United Nations. By the end of the 20th century practically all of Earth's nations had joined the United Nations

**2021:** The International Society of Civil Engineers is formed, marking the start of space colonization, the dissolving of all governments and militaries into the UN. The colonization of the Solar System commences targeting the moon, Mars, The Jovian moons and various other asteroids.

**2160-2170:** Radical old beliefs and doctrines have a resurgence during humanities expansion into the stars. Neo-communists, Frieden fascists and the UN clash in a three-way war. From the Jovian Moons Campaign to The Rainforest Wars in South America. Towards the end of 2163, The United Nations Space Command, representing all of humanity's military forces, was formed. The Interplanetary War begins, the UNSC leading a systematic and dedicated drive to crush the opposing forces. By the end of the decade, both the Koslovics and Frieden forces finally surrendered. During this time, the first bioengineering protocols were created. They would be the progenitors of the Orion Project and all future augmentations.

**2178:** The Office of Naval Intelligence is formed

**2291:** After many years of growing discontent across the Sol System from Famine to overpopulation, humanity's greatest achievement and discovery is made. Shaw-Fujikawa Slip-space drive is invented, opening the doorway to the endless expanse of the stars. By 2310, the first line of colonial ships are unveiled leading to a mass movement of leaving Earth

**2332:** The Ross-Zeigler blip event takes place

**2362:** The Odyssey is launched, with humanity now expanding outside the confines of their old Solar System. Of these first worlds to be colonized is Reach.

**2390:** 210 human occupied worlds form the Inner Colonies. Over population is stabilized. First Contact scenarios and doctrines had been established by this time

**2400:** First Contact

_Journal Entry I_

_Humanities history has always been one of growth, expansion, ambition, innovation and above all else that went hand in hand, War and Peace._

_When we looked to the skies, the underlying belief of us not being alone went with it naturally. The endless expanse of the black void with the stars and celestial bodies far off in the distance becoming closer and closer by the day._

_There was always the dormant eventuality of conflict, one we are all too familiar with. In fact there were times in the expanse where I found myself surprised at looking at the gaps in between where little violence and conflicts occurred._

_The time of First Contact. I believe that was one of the strongest deterrents we have ever had._

_I truly am grateful to our eternal allies in the stars._

_Fierce, loyal, compassionate and kind._

_Humanity was undoubtedly lucky with our first contacts. If only it had been that way at every turn._

_-Journal Entry end_

Over the past 100 years humanity has been rapidly expanding all throughout their area in the Galaxy. With over 300+ human occupied worlds under the UNSC, ambition only grew.

Currently, the recently constructed Gen-1 Frigate of the UNSC _Frontier_ has been travelling in Slip-Space towards a newly discovered section in the milky-way that may hold ideal worlds for colonization that may not require the need for Terraforming technology.

It's Captain, Jackson R. Shepard was sitting on the bridge overlooking his fellow men and women performing their duties.

Shepard leaned back into his chair, taking a nice long drink of his coffee in hand.

"Captain."

Jackson glanced over to his left to see the avatar of the ship's personal AI, the first-generation AI Adam.

His avatar was based off of a dapper, sharply dressed businessman slicked back hair and a fine defined jaw.

"Adam." Shepard greeted. "You're looking spiffy as ever."

"Thank you captain. I do have an image to keep up." Adam Said in a smarmy joking tone.

Jackson chortled before turning serious.

"What have you got for me Adam?" Jackson inquired.

"All systems are nominal sir; we will be exiting slip space shortly." Adam stated.

"Good to know Adam." Jackson then turned to address the rest of the crew, his voice echoing on the intercom throughout the ship.

"Attention all hands, this the captain speaking. Prepare for slip space exit protocols. I want all hands at their stations to keep all systems green."

In front of them, a large rupture pierced through the void of space allowing them to exit from the slip space stream.

"Systems check." Jackson ordered, receiving various responses.

"Engines are go, sir."

"Live support systems are functioning properly."

"Slip space engine is cooling down."

"Weapons are operating at a hundred percent capacity."

"Navigations and communication systems are nominal."

Jackson nodded, satisfied to hear that everything was up and running at full power. Looking ahead into the void of space, Jackson narrowed his eyes momentarily and spotted several planets, moons and other celestial bodies.

However, something caught Shepard's eye. Squinting further, he murmured under his breath trying to make sense of what he was looking at when…

"CAPTAIN" Adam yelled "Unidentified contacts orbiting planet designation K3!"

The entire crew of the UNSC Frontier went deathly silent, the sudden rise of tension palpable in the air. Excitement and anxiousness permeated amongst the crew. Jackson himself was silent in awe and nervousness.

"Adam." Jackson spoke slowly. "Are you telling me that…"

"First contact." Adam answered, confirming what many were speculating on.

They were not alone. The thought sunk in, completely taking over the thought process of the entire crew. _They were not alone!_

"Holy fucking shit." Was the first statement said aloud, a sentiment that practically everyone aboard the Frontier shared.

"Send word back to the UNSC command now" Jackson ordered "Move the Frontier towards the planet K3 steadily, let's not alarm anyone who may have an itchy trigger finger."

A veritable shiver of anticipation ran through them all as the Frontier began to slowly drift in the direction of what now can be seen as ships and satellites in orbit around the planet ahead.

"This is insane." Murmured a crewmate beside Shepard.

"What do you think they're like?" asked another.

"Hope they're peaceful."

"Their ships…they look…kinda wooden."

"Wooden ships? They're made of wood?"

"They look wooden, not _are_ wooden, ding dong."

"What if they are wooden? The galaxy is a big place after all."

"Ok Plato, if you're done being philosophical…"

"Sir." Adam spoke up. "Detecting half a dozen ships breaking off from orbit and moving in our direction…they are hailing us."

Jackson tensed up, fists clenching and unclenching several times before he stood up and cleared his throat. Shepard became a stony-faced visage, eyes ablaze and focused.

"Patch them through." Jackson ordered.

A screen appeared before them and what they saw truly surprised them.

"Whoa!"

"Didn't expect that."

"They certainly look big that's for sure."

Knowing that this was the big moment, Jackson Shepard stepped forward clearing his throat.

"Greetings to you fellow travelers of the stars. This is Jackson R. Shepard, Captain of the UNSC Frontier." Jackson introduced himself professionally "I speak for the UEG's primary military force, the UNSC. On behalf of myself, my crew and all of humanity I hope that you come in peace like we do with no intentions of hostile actions."

What he got in response was a warble and growl that sounded like an odd mix of animals from dogs to bears.

"Anybody understand that?"

"You're seriously asking that question right now?"

"How in the heck did these walking carpets achieve space fairing capabilities?"

"Guess there's more to them than meets the eye."

"Adam?" Jackson looked to the ships AI who popped up beside him and shrugged

"I've actually managed to go through their systems with no difficulty and couldn't find a means of communicating with them."

Jackson sighed in frustration, facing the large furry bipedal creatures that continued to stare back at them with curiosity and expectancy. An idea then clicked into his mind.

"Adam" Jackson said "Can you create a package greeting? A way of displaying our intentions?"

Adam stared momentarily, brightening up a second later.

"Coming right up Captain." Adam said excitedly.

Nodding his head at the AI, Jackson faced the aliens once more exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Let's hope this works."

_Several weeks later_

The President of the UEG along with several council members, high ranking admirals of the UNSC, one of which went to meet with the aliens personally along with the Frontier and select ONI operatives all sat within a conference room overlooking the meeting between Humanity and this new space faring race they had stumbled upon in their journey through the stars.

What they saw was quite amazing as well as truly humorous.

When Jackson approached the large, hairy humanoid, he extended his hand in greeting only for the creature to let out a warbling cry. It then hugged the captain tightly as its own version of hello, making the poor captain momentarily lose his breath and causing his crew to snicker at the predicament.

"Well, they seem peaceful enough." Lord Admiral Montgomery Churchill provided a joking tone.

"They have shown no sign of aggression or any form of hostile motives." The UEG president said. "What else is there to know about them?"

"We finally discerned a name for them." General Robert Williams stated. "Thanks to the AI Adam along with several other AI's, we have managed to discern some of their unusual ways of communicating and have been given the identification of their Species name. Wookies."

"Wookies?" repeated a counselor.

"It means tree people." An ONI operative clarified. "At least that's what I think is the rough translation."

"Have they spoken on anything else?" Another Admiral of the UNSC asked. "Their wants, their intentions? Anything regarding that matter?"

"From what we've been able to gather, they themselves are still relatively new to the whole Space faring bit." Churchill stated. "Moreover the colonization of other systems. The approximate time that they have been amongst the stars is above our own by about several decades give or take, possibly even more so than us."

"There's also something else of note." The head of ONI spoke up. "They're Slip-space capabilities exceed our own."

That caught everyone's attention as of all the things that they were planning to speak about, Slip-space capabilities were not at the forefront of their minds.

"Really?" An ONI representative said with intrigue. "I wasn't aware of that."

"Before we do anything else." the president of the UEG cut in. "I just want to know one thing on everyone's mind. Are they hostile and if not now, can they become hostile in the future?"

A curt silence filled the room, the many individuals glancing at one another.

"Sir, if I may." General Williams spoke first. "I have trained many of our best and brightest with the same mentality that myself and my family has been trained with. Trust in your gut. Now these Wookies…they haven't been given reason to attack us as have we to them and in case you didn't notice, their version of greeting is a bear hug, plain and simple."

A few mouths twitched upwards at the casual quip but remained professional.

"Now that right there to me, I believe can be a good sign for us in the long run." Williams stated. "A chance of not only perhaps getting our hands on some new, innovating technology but allies in the stars. Not only will we be able to advance ourselves in the galaxy but we also won't be alone in that regard."

"That's a hell of an optimistic view, general." The head of ONI said frankly. "What makes you believe that they want to be our allies?"

"What makes you believe that they don't?" Williams shot back. "All I'm saying is we give this a chance. The literal chance of a lifetime. Now I'm really throwing ideas at the wall here, but this is first contact. And judging from the walking carpets this is their first contact as well. Let's put our best foot forward here. For the sake of humanity."

The room was still and quiet with all present unsure of how to respond to such a small speech. It was an impassioned rhetoric that did hold merit if more on the hypothetical side.

But right now, the president and several other individuals within the conference room couldn't help but be swayed by Williams' more optimistic side.

The president signed aloud. "Alright Williams. Let's put our best foot forward."

_-Scene Cut-_

It had been several months, but they were now starting to get somewhere.

After meeting with these new humanoid, furry aliens, humanity had at long last reached a breakthrough.

Thanks to coordinated efforts on both sides as well as multiple AI's going into overload, they had managed to identify the species name.

They called themselves Wookies, translated to People of the Trees and an apt title it was due to their jungle home world named Kashyyyk.

**2401 August 1st** : Writ Of brotherhood, Wookies swear lasting friendship and alliance with humanity for aiding in their ability to terra-form and colonize worlds within human systems.

_-Earth-_

_-Unified Earth Government/UNSC Command HQ-_

Thousands upon thousands of civilians were gathered around the United Nations with practically every single human upon every single colony watched with baited anticipation.

Floating above the buildings were multiple UNSC ships along with the unusually designed wooden ships of the alien race of the Wookies.

Among the front of the crowds were also a large collection of the walking fur bags that were all roaring in approval with their leaders standing before the president of the UEG with her cabinet.

Before the President stood the Chieftain and representatives of the Wookies, Rarfaren.

He was a tall Wookie, fur a deep shade of brown with an emblazoned shoulder pad upon his left and gauntlets of a silver tint.

Within his hands was a sword of some kind.

From what the President was told, this is what is called a Ryyk Blade.

Though it is common amongst the Wookies themselves, this Ryyk Blade was of particular significance.

It had been handed down for generations upon generations from one Chieftain to another before it became the symbol of the Wookie people after achieving space travel.

And now, due to humanity assisting the Wookies in being able to terra-form worlds and expand their people, this was their gift to them.

A solemn swear of comradery between the Wookie and their sworn brothers and sisters among the stars.

Rarfaren let out a gurgle and a whine, holding out the Ryyk blade toward the President of the UEG. The President stepped forward and gently took the blade out of the hands of the Wookie with her nodding towards him.

She then turned to the man standing beside her and nodded.

Dressed in a sharp military uniform with medals decorating his jacket, Captain Jackson R. Shepard held within his hand a set of folded flags of the UNSC and UEG with a specially made sword resting atop them both.

This sword was uniquely created utilizing multiple metals taken from the Earth and several of its colonies, forged into a classical broadsword.

Jackson held it out for Rarfaren to take with the Wookiee Chieftain letting out an accepting growl, taking it out of the Captain's hand.

The Chieftain looked to the crowd raising the sword and flag above his head and roared aloud in approval with the other Wookiees following suit. A moment later, the President of the UEG raised her own blade with people beginning to cheer aloud.

From this day forth, Wookiees and Humans would face the endless expanse of space together.

_Journal Entry Log II_

_A momentous day occurred within the history of Wookiees and Humanity._

_Those large, fuzzy creatures truly adhered to the philosophy of honoring their writ of union._

_There were some detractors, naturally._

_Yet the idea of having allies as strong and as… dare I say it, lovable as the Wookiees was a blessing that many could not deny._

_It took some time of course for adjustments. Several years had gone by where 80 percent of the population had only seen Wookiees once in their lives, that being the day of the Writ._

_But naturally, overtime, that number dwindled._

_The UNSC with the Wookie government began working together and the universe certainly is an astonishing place at times. Who knew that the Wookiees were such handy mechanics._

_Of course that should be assumed considering they achieved space flight on their own but their understanding of it at times outclassed our own._

_When they spoke of sharing everything with their "brothers and sisters of the Stars", they truly meant it._

_I am unsure if there is a God at times but in that instance in our history, Humanity was truly blessed._

_Their language and cultures soon began integrating with our own and the same went for them._

_Shyriiwook, or Wookieespeak, as most have taken to calling it is their primary language. There are others of course, though I find it astonishing with how quickly humans began to learn the language itself._

_Though we have translators that can be installed within our neural implants, a growing number of them in the early 2430's understood it fluently as the Wookies did with many of Earth's own languages._

_I digress. It was truly a stroke of first luck that humanity received such an ally at the start of the 25th century._

_Many that would live past it would recall it with great fondness as we continued our expanse across the stars until..._

**2438, October 25th: Second Contact.**

The UNSC Voyager was idly floating around the Lambda Serpentis System above the colony world of Jericho VII.

Rolling plains of palm grass complemented by vast green oceans, it was a human colony that was a producer of a fine alcoholic beverage known as Alt Burgundy.

Needless to say, it was quite popular amongst the ranks of the UNSC and their Wookiee allies.

Currently, the Captain of the ship along with his Wookiee vice-captain were sharing a drink together within the bridge after a successful training Op conducted with humans and Wookiees. The rest of the crew had their glasses raised, all cheering and laughing with some already halfway through to being drunk.

"RAWRRROO."

"I know Tolk, this planet's burgundy is unlike any other." The Captain said boisterously, clinking his glass with his Wookiee comrade.

The Bridge's vibe was overall festive and cheerful with some areas even having drawings of ghosts and pumpkins since Halloween was nary a few days away.

Sitting down within his chair, the Captain relaxed as he sloshed about his drink within his hand.

"Enjoying yourself, Captain?"

"Why yes I am, Lory, thank you for asking." The Captain replied, raising his glass to the AI that had just appeared before him.

Her usual Avatar had changed to resemble that of an undead princess, going with the upcoming holiday six days away.

"So what's going on Lory?" The Captain asked. "Nothing too serious I hope."

"No." Lory shook her head. "Just notifying you of a few things. We're restocked on equipment, crew's accounted for. We should be receiving orders soo-"

Lory froze with her avatar blinking making the Captain sit up.

"Lo-"

Alarms within the Voyager began blaring as the crew all looked around in panic and concern.

"Lory, the hell is happening?!" The Captain of the Voyager asked in alarm.

"Unidentified Slip-Space rupture detected." Lory informed the bridge with many breaking out of their drunken stupors.

"Whe-"

The Captain didn't need a vocal answer from the ship's AI as he got it right before him. The familiar rupture of a Slip-Space portal appeared in front of the ship itself, thankfully a great distance away.

From the portal came a ship of unknown origin and design that neither species aboard the Voyager had ever seen.

It was stretched so to speak, sharply ovular if one could describe it with multiple oval domes, cylindrical hulls and multiple openings of some kind that looked like Hangar bays.

"My God." One of the crewmen muttered with multiple whispers following after.

A few voiced their opinions aloud.

"Is that-?"

"It has to be."

"Another new species!"

"Holy shit!"

"I can't believe this is happening again."

"It's only been what? Thirty eight years right?"

"Are they friendly?"

"Please, please let them be like the Wookiees."

"RAAA" A Wookiee roared in approval.

"Captain?" Lory turned to the Leader of the Voyager whose expression was calm and focused.

"Prep communications and our first contact package." The Captain ordered. "Send word back to UNSC high Command and the Wookiee Brotherhood."

_We were certainly surprised to have met another species so soon and in such a short amount of time._

_Then again, with the rate in which we were expanding it was only a matter of time once more until we met other Species._

_Mon Calamari these ones were called._

_Fish-Like Amphibious humanoids with domed heads, webbed hands and large fish-like eyes were the simplest way to describe them. A Species that developed underwater yet somehow was capable of adapting to breath air, they are certainly a fascinating species._

_Their entire planet was covered in vast oceans with patches of land here and there. Cities built upon the waves were a marvel to behold and the underwater civilizations were equally as astonishing._

_Their arts, culture, music and history were as rich as ours but what truly caught the eye of Humanity and Wookiees were the expert capabilities in shipbuilding and piloting._

_Master of their craft, the Mon Calamari had created a shipyard ring around their home planet!_

_We had never seen anything like it though our space elevators certainly shocked them in return._

_It took some time so to speak to establish a working relationship with each other._

_Though there was no aggression upon either side, this was certainly new territory for the Mon Cala as this was first contact for them and second for us and our Wookiee allies._

_However, we were willing to be patient._

_We knew it took time to get us to the bond we have now with the Wookies and many were willing to do the same with the Mon Calamari._

_Eventually however, we came to a greater understanding._

_After two decades of trade and talks, the Mon Calamari signed a formal declaration of an alliance with Humanity and Wookiees._

_The date of June 1st, 2458 was a day of celebration as our allies in the stars grew just as our expanse had._

**2458 June 1st:** Mon Calamari Signs an alliance with Humans and Wookies joining under the branch of the UNSC and UEG. UNSC remains the name of the trio of alien races though aptly renamed the United iNtergalactic Space Command.

**2465:** First joint Ships between Human/Wookiees and Mon Calamari is completed.

**2470** **:** Future UNSC Admirals Dodonna and Preston Cole are born

**2475** **:** Corellia is discovered and due to it being heavy with resources for metals, foods ETC. Becomes major shipyard from the Triple alliance of species (Humanity, Wookies and Mon Cala.) Birth of future UNSC Admiral Gial Ackbar

**2477** **:** Avery Johnson, future Spartan-I and all-around badass is born.

**2479** **:** Birth of Future UNSC Admirals James Cutter and Gilad Pellaeon.

_Journal Entry III_

_As our expanse within the stars continued, there was a growing sense of discontent that was beginning to rumble across the Outer Colonies of the UNSC._

_At first, it seemed like small and insignificant problems._

_People within the outer colonies voicing complaints about them being under the leadership of planets lightyears away in their eyes._

_There had also been a rising undercurrent of purists so to speak._

_Those refusing to acknowledge and work with the Wookiees and Mon Calamari._

_A mind boggling belief to be sure considering how much our two friends in the stars have helped in expanding our capabilities within space, just as much as we have for them in their own expansion among the stars._

_They were a small minority within our population yet it rather frustrated me at times as to why humanity was always bent on conflict._

_If there appeared to be none, there would be those seeking to create it._

_Of course this was promptly ignored upon the start of 2479._

_Less than two months in, in an operation led by Mon Cala Captain Osuxla we had discovered yet another ocean world._

_It was isolated, alone yet we had learned from the Mon Cala about these kinds of worlds._

_And true to our hunches, there was life on this planet._

_And truly, this sentient species vaguely resembled the cartoonish designs of old from the 1950's of alien looks._

_The differences of course being their long slender necks, long limbs and overall tall body._

_Kaminoans they were called._

_A species that lived in a world that appeared to be perpetually stormy in one way shape or form._

_The planet of Kamino itself was blanketed by oceans entirely with very few islands that were the very top of mountain ranges long submerged beneath the waves._

_Yet they persevered in the face of overwhelming adversity, though the lengths in which they had done so was morally questionable to say the least._

_Culling and purging, routing out those that would not be beneficial to their race as a whole._

_Walking Apathy._

_An apt nickname that many had developed if ever there was one for the Kaminoans. They display virtually little to no emotions at times. Even I have to admit, it is startling at times._

_However, one would be a fool if they disregarded just what they were capable of._

_Their predisposition to genetics, biology, and anatomy was beyond anything we had ever seen and it would prove to be vital within the coming century that would plague the UNSC._

_Much as they are a difficult species to deal with at times, I cannot deny their instrumental involvement that has saved the galaxy on multiple occasions._

_End of Journal entry._

**2480** **:** Alec Ryder, future Spartan-1 and Starfighter pilot/Andromeda initiative born.

**2490** **:** Future Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood and Admiral Steven Hackett were born.

**2491** **:** The Relaunch of ORION Project begins with 65 test subjects. After completing their training, an additional 100 volunteers were accepted into the program. Future notables of the ORION Project, later dubbed the SPARTAN-1 program are Avery Johnson, Alec Ryder, and Gerald J Shepard.

**2492:** March 19th, Catherine Halsey is born.

**2493** **:** David Anderson is born.

_Earth_

_-Unified Earth Government/UNSC Command HQ-_

"I'm sorry Captain Dodonna, the decision of the council is final. We will not approve of forwarding assets to your fighter project. You are dismissed." Lord Jon Grissom said in a sharp tone.

Jan Dodonna stood at attention, face betraying nothing yet his mind was filled with frustration and anger. He was dressed in his UNSC combat navy uniform, slicked back black hair and usual peaked cap.

"Yes sir." Captain Dodonna said as he left the council chambers with a quick salute.

Jan Dodonna, Captain of the UNSC Rough Rider is very much displeased at this very moment.

The UNSC Admiralty had once again turned down his proposal.

You see, Dodonna grew up studying and watching films of WW2 dogfights, 21st Century, and 22nd Century space combat. What was a boyhood fascination turned into a determined realization of how ill equipped the UNSC was in the face of the endless expanse of space.

This in turn developed into a strong emphasis that star fighters can be the future of space combat.

Only a few with the UNSC shared his belief with them being taken by the idea and finding merit in such a concept.

Unfortunately, he was outweighed by the majority saying Star fighters have no place within the UNSC when you can have frigates and cruisers. Besides, anti-air guns and targeting systems would blow them out of space.

Dodonna didn't believe in such but he had been turned down for the eleventh time by this point.

He wasn't one to quit but dammit was it getting beyond annoying and downright infuriating.

So he did the only thing he felt that he could logically do right now.

He goes to get a drink.

Entering his favorite bar nearby, Dodonna nods his head at the Wookiee bartender who growls in greeting.

Sitting within a booth by his lonesome, the Wookiee bartender personally came over to him and placed an empty glass with his favorite scotch on the side.

"Thanks Zeke."

The Wookiee simply patted the human Captain upon the shoulder sympathetically before returning to work.

Dodonna pours himself a drink from the pre-opened bottle and downs the contents in one go, sighing in slight defeat as he leaned back into his seat.

"Damn idiots." Dodonna muttered to himself as he poured another glass. "Why can't they see it?"

The lone Captain sat there in his booth for a while, all to himself while drinking slowly. He had nothing to do for the remainder of the day so might as well spend it on drinking his favorite.

That was until…

"Excuse me, Captain Dodonna, correct?"

Looking up from his glass, the UNSC Captain saw that it was a young male Mon Calamari standing before him with a datapad tucked underneath one hand with a glass in the other. His skin was Orangish brown with darker shades of stripes upon his enlarged forehead.

If Jan were to gauge at his age, he'd say the Mon Cala was slightly younger than him by several years.

"That'd be me." Dodonna said warily. "Who's asking?"

The Mon Cala grinned, setting his glass down and offering his hand.

"Names Rem Mirro." The Mon Cala introduced himself. "But you can call me Remy if you'd like."

"Pleasure." Dodonna said politely enough. "What can I do for you, Rem?"

"May I sit?" Rem gestured to the empty seat opposite with Dodonna waving his arm towards the seat in a silent 'go ahead'.

"First of all, it is a pleasure to meet you as well." Rem began with an ecstatic tone. "I have heard a great deal about you."

Dodonna arched a wary brow.

"What exactly have you heard?" The Captain asked cautiously.

"That you are one talented Navy officer and pilot though causing headaches for a number of high ranking officials within the UNSC." Remy stated with a grin.

Jan snorted, raising his glass to his lips. "Is that all I am? Just a headache?"

Remy's grin only grew. "That's just the polite word they used to describe you."

Dodonna chuckled openly at that tidbit, the statement falling more in line with how he is usually treated by some of the higher ups of the UNSC.

What follows is an hour between the two talking and beginning to know one another as the time passed by.

Aside from the UNSC, they discussed a litany of topics. Simple things such as where they were both born, where they grew up, musical tastes, personal life experiences and such.

Things were going smoothly when…

"I've heard some rumblings of insurrection going on in certain outer colonies of the UNSC." Remy commented, the topic of discussion being on the colonies themselves.

"That's putting it mildly." Dodonna all but growled. "Damn idiots in the UNSC are blind as all hell to the coming danger."

Remy blinked innocently.

"And tell me, my friend, what would that be?"

"War." Dodonna said, emphatically in tone and action as he slammed his glass down upon the table. "Fucking morons don't realize how serious these Insurrectionists are and will become. They're volatile, dangerous and unpredictable. They may seem like nuisances right now but… God knows how much things will change in the future."

The Captain rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"I've been hearing some unpleasant news and rumors from some friends stationed out there with those insurrectionist hot zones." Dodonna revealed. "They've been seeing a lot of recruitment going around for what could only lead to one thing. Open rebellion against the UNSC."

"And what was it that you proposed to the UNSC to counter these growing threats?" Remy asked with intrigued narrowed eyes.

"We gotta look to the past." Dodonna said passionately. "Something that has been phased out centuries ago needs to make their comeback _now._ "

"Which is?"

"A proper naval air force." Dodonna stated. "Not cruisers or frigates like what we have, or the Pelicans and Longswords every other ship has. I'm talking small, single manned fighters that can get in close to enemy ships and fortifications and cause devastating damage."

Rem Mirro hummed aloud with a sly smirk appearing on his face.

"You know, I've always had a fascination with the original English Alphabet."

"Whazzat?" Dodonna blinked in utter confusion.

Rem leans his arms against the table whilst bringing up his untouched datapad that had been lying beside him all this time.

"See, while most would see letters that would form words, I saw something quite different."

Remy showed the first image within his datapad, holding it out for Dodonna to take.

The man was confused yet curious as he took the pad out of the Mon Cala's hands and stared at an X.

An X that shifted and changed into a ship of some kind with a long nose, four engines behind what looked like the seat of the ship with four extended "wings" that formed an X.

Eyes widening significantly, Dodonna began to sift through multiple blueprints and images of various small ships that appeared to be based on letters of the English alphabet.

"This.. This is…" Jan stuttered in awe and disbelief.

"I call it Alphabet Soup." Rem remarked with a mischievous smile. "You like it?"

"L-like it?!" Dodonna nearly exclaimed. "Where? How? When?"

He paused in his ramblings, a conflicted expression appearing.

"Why?" The Captain asked. "Why come to me about this? This seems too good to be true."

Remy laughed at the question, nodding his head.

"Normally, there would be merit in what you have said but these aren't normal times." Rem's lax demeanor fell away as the Calamari became much more serious.

"I too have been hearing about this growing insurrection that is leaving many who live out within those colonies disturbed and frightened." Rem stated. "There is no doubt in many that understand the threat that war is coming. One that could envelop the entirety of the Outer Colonies, perhaps even some of the Inner Colonies. Millions will undoubtedly die with planets being decimated. A century's work of expansion and cooperation would result in nothing if this rebellion were to rise."

"So why come to me?" Dodonna asked.

"I've been waiting for someone such as yourself." Remy stated excitedly. "I always believed in what I have made and now that I know there is someone within the UNSC who shares my belief, I can get this made."

Remy leaned forward with a manic grin in place.

"I have friends, Donnie. Friends in high places that can help us get this done. Help prepare us for the oncoming wave of conflict." Rem stated. "Incom Corporation have you heard of it?

"Yeah, it was founded by a Mon Cala right? Back in 2469?"

"Correct. The private company is willing to invest in my project and yours if you are willing to work with me."

Dodonna found himself hesitating.

"Why me again?" He found himself asking.

"I may be a designer of ships, but you are a man of ships within the Navy." Remy stressed out. "If anyone should be leading this project, it _must_ be you. Ships can only go so far unless they are operated and directed by someone who gets it. I've heard about that Pelican trick you pulled off in-"

"Let's." Dodonna's expression was slightly embarrassed now. "Let's not bring that up."

Rem blinked before chuckling at the face Jan formed at what he was about to bring up.

"You see?" Rem said encouragingly. "This project was meant for guys like us. The two of us, we can revolutionize the UNSC and save it from destruction."

"I don't think a civil war will destroy the UNSC." Donnie said dryly with Remy waving him off.

"You know what I mean." Rem said. "So? Whaddya say?"

Dodonna was silent, gazing at the eager and frankly eccentric Mon Cala before him. He glanced down at the datapad in his hands and gazed upon the file name of Alphabet Soup.

This man was serious. Serious and passionate about what he had just presented.

In a similar manner to how he was when it came to Starfighters.

He would not pass this opportunity up.

"I'm in." Dodonna declared, a beaming smile meeting him with Remy shaking with excitement.

"YES!" He threw his arms up in victory, catching the attention of all the other bar patrons yet it was completely ignored by the young Mon Cala who grabbed Dodonna's hand and began to vigorously shake it about.

"We're in business now, partner _."_ Remy said with a joyful tone. "We're gonna change history my friend. I gotta start making calls and seeing what I can pull off. Maybe I should try right now or-"

"Y-y-you c-c-can s-star-t b-by l-letting g-go of m-my h-hand." Dodonna managed out with Rem realizing what he had been doing and releasing the Captain with a sheepish face.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." Dodonna said, shaking his numb arm. "But yeah, we're in business. I gotta call up some friends of my own to get this started."

Remy only pumped his fists. "Look out universe, here we come."

**2494** **:** Insurrection conflict begins. Mon Calamari Ship designer and eccentric pilot Rem Mirro's idea, designated Starfighter Project Alphabet Soup, is approved. Captain Dodonna and several other Navy Personnel work personally with the Mon Cala in the production of this project.

**2495** **:** Jacob Keyes is born.

**2496** **:** The first ORION deployment occurred as part of Operation: CHARLEMAGNE

**2498** **:** Starfighters officially enter service and begin their first engagements against the Insurrection Fleet. The results yielded an astounding success for the UNSC as multiple fleets were destroyed or suffered heavy damage. This resulted in Jan Dodonna being promoted to Vice-Admiral and the Head of the Starfighter Corp.

Even though the victory put a stop on The Insurrection's growing expansion, the conflict would continue on into the start of the next century.

Though the closing years of the 25th century were met with rife conflict and escalating battles, many would recall the start and many decades for the majority of the century as the golden years of expansion. New alien races were met and in turn, became strong allies and friends to humanity.

If only that were to be the case the next time they encounter sentient species within the galaxy.

**2500** **:** Kuat is discovered and also became a major shipyard world by the UNSC.

The start of the 26th century would forever go down in history as the beginning and end of the foundation of the known galaxy.

The events, conflicts and wars to come would restructure everything that every sentient species had known.

And it all started twenty five years into the 26th century.

But there was still much to be told before that time.

**Ok there we have it folks.**

**The opening chapter to my newest story that BulletStormX and I have been working on extensively.**

**While we don't have the chapters all listed out, in terms of a timeline well…**

**To say that BulletStormX had outdone himself would be an understatement.**

**I kid you not when he and I crafter nearly a hundred pages of the timeline of this story alone. And we're still not done mind you.**

**BSX: The days we spent working and calculating events were such a nuisance, I'll tell ya. But it all paid off as you just saw.**

**FMW: Yes indeed. There is so much that we have written down and I gotta say, it's probably the most extensive, detailed plan I think BSX and I have concocted. There is so much content we have to cover that not gonna lie, updates of this story will not come as often as we would like but by God we shall try our damndest to do so.**

**BSX: As you all already know, my friend and myself are really busy with a tight schedule and stuff not even mentioning future projects in the works including Jebest own as well. For this reason we agree on a Monthly update. So expect the next chapter somewhere in August, don't know when but it will happen. So please be patient in the meantime.**

**FMW: Yeah aside from this, BSX has his own set of stories, on top of our other collaborative project Spirit Unto Dawn. I got several other stories to work with as well as the other collaborative stories I write with Jebest4781. We shall attempt to work on this as frequently as we can but like BSX said, monthly updates are most likely going to be the norm.**

**This is a story I had in development for about… two years. Thanks to BSX, it was focused, planned and now has a large overarching narrative that will cover many, many arcs with a gargantuan ensemble cast.**

**There will be AU here and there with alterations to certain laws and such that come from the three franchises that are in this crossover. But know this, we plan on telling the best story possible with what we have here.**

**So until then.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	2. Where it Begins

**So I see you all enjoyed our opener to this gargantuan story.**

**Well I hope we can continue this trend with this one cause we're getting started now.**

**A lot of questions have been asked with many to be answered as the story goes on. This is gonna be a long haul, let me tell you.**

**We have a lot of work cut out for us and with how much we have to write, I'm just aching to get to it.**

**That means there is a lot to do right now.**

**Let's get to it.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 2: Where it begins.

_Journal Entry IV_

_The start of this century… is difficult to comprehend in hindsight._

_It feels so distant. all things considered now. We had done so much in such a short amount of time that it felt like centuries of work._

_What should have been a start to a new era to prosper and grow is now a start to conflicts._

_It just happened all so sudden._

_The growing threat of our own kind was enough of a catalyst to begin the more… immoral decisions._

_Was it fate? Was it destiny? Eventuality or the inevitable?_

_It is strange really. A rare instance of me being speechless._

_I guess that's what happens when I get too sentimental about the past._

_All my choices and my decisions, my experiments, my programs._

_Excuse me._

_I didn't mean to ramble._

_I know few if at all would read this but at the very least if anyone would, they wouldn't want to hear my meaningless drivel of my emotions acting up._

_The start of the 26th century was the beginning of shifting times for the UNSC, her allies and the galaxy as a whole. One would say it took some time getting there but as we learned that we're not alone, the entire universe is always shifting whether we know it or not._

_It was only a matter of time until it just caught up to us._

_End of Journal Entry._

**2500:** Kuat is discovered and also becomes a major shipyard world by the UNSC.

_UNSC Roadrunner_

Vice-Admiral Dodonna stands at the bridge of the frigate, overlooking the construction of a brand new shipyard that would serve the UNSC and her allies in their expanse of the stars.

It would also be a major boon in the coming conflicts in regard to the damn Insurrection.

He saw ships of Mon Cala, Human and Wookiee design all flying about in tandem with one another as space elevators were built to link up with the ring that would be constructed around the planet.

The Vice-Admiral couldn't help but praise the UNSC's luck in finding allies such as the Mon Calamari.

Their expertise in ship building was beyond astonishing.

The old shipyards they once had have undergone extensive reconstructions thanks in no small part to the Mon Cala.

Though building ships the size of cruisers, frigates, corvettes and so on would take time, having three species working together for such an objective would cut the time down drastically.

From certain estimations from a few scientists, the UNSC would have upwards of perhaps three to four thousand star ships within the next two decades. Maybe even more.

Corellia, Mon Cala, Bestine IV, The Bilbringi system, Byss and now Kuat serve as the primary Shipyards for the United iNtergalactic Space Command.

And thanks to the addition of yet another shipyard, the production of star fighters was on a steady upward trajectory.

Already a few thousand had been made.

X-wings and Arc-wings.

The first in a line of starfighters that would serve the UNSC from here until the end.

It is a shame though.

In a few hundred years, humanity had expanded rapidly across the stars with many colony worlds settled upon with the numbers up to 1100 by this point when adding the colonies they now shared with the Mon Cala and Wookiees.

And yet, in all their advancements and capabilities they still could not stop the inevitable universal pull of conflict.

It was almost frustrating by this point.

Regardless, there was work to be done.

And Vice-Admiral Dodonna would see it through to the end.

**2501**

**May 29: John Forge is born on Earth.**

**June 2: Skirmish at Theta Ursae Majoris**

_*This is Breaking news with Gjool Menya and Roy Barton.*_

A human male in his mid-thirties with a Mon Cala around the same age sat within a newsroom facing a camera.

"Good evening." Gjool, the Calamari addressed the camera straight away. "We have recently received word of a skirmish that has recently occurred with the Theta Ursae Majoris System between UNSC forces and the growing insurgency spread out through the out colonies."

"This is the third recent skirmish between the two forces within the TUM system." Roy spoke next. "Naval reports that Vice-Admiral Preston Cole was the one in command of the UNSC Destroyer named Gorgon was seen engaging in the identified Insurrection Charon Class Light-frigate of the _Bellerophon_ yet it's captain has yet to be identified."

"This is only the most recent battle between the growing Insurrection and the UNSC, with many wondering when will the ceasefire occur as the conflict has been ongoing for seven years now." Gjool stated.

"Many have wondered if autonomy should be given to the Insurrection yet the UNSC, MCC(Mon Cala Coalition) And Wookiee Leadership have argued strongly against such an idea due to the outer colonies holding such importance in regard to raw resources and goods."

"Some have stated that had there been a compromise made, this unofficial Civil War may not have occurred yet that remains as speculation up to this point."

"With Insurrection growing with the number of casualties increasing with it, the UNSC have yet to declare formal war or a state of emergency."

"And in light… Excuse me. We have just received word from UNSC officials that the Insurrection controlled Frigate has fled the battle with the UNSC Gorgon being sent to repairs."

**September 3rd-** A young Catherine Halsey continues to defy educational standards at Endymion Gifted, the Koletre-Browning University's Dean of Biological Science funds her education and relocation to the university on Circumstance at the age of Nine.

**September 15th-** Future Admiral Gial Ackbar enlists in the Mon Cala/UNSC Navy, quickly rising through the ranks as a promising Navy operative.

**2502**

**March 13:** Jerald Mulkey Ander, the leader of the Secessionist Union on Harvest, is assassinated by Avery Johnson as part of Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE.

**May:** The UNSC _Gorgon_ is damaged in the Skirmish at Capella with Insurrectionist forces, resulting in the deaths of 32 crew members and requiring her to be laid up in a space dock for one month for repairs.

**November 9:** Preston Cole writes to his brother Michael, informing him that he has married Lyrenne Castilla, and that she is pregnant.

**2503, June 13:** Admiral Harold Stanforth sends UNSC Transmission 08871D-00 to Preston Cole, informing him that his second wife, Lyrenne Castilla is a high ranking Insurrectionist leader. Cole is given three hours to bring her in but finds that she has already fled.

**August 13:** Ellen Anders is born on Arcadia.

**2504**

**January 2:** A battle takes place in the Theta Ursae Majoris System between the UNSC and the Insurrectionists.

**June 19:** James Cutter is sent to the Officer Candidate School where he was taught Command and Navigation.

**2506**

**February 5th:** Zaeed Massani is born.

**March 19th:** Orion Project the first attempt by the Colonial Military Administration to create and train teams of super-soldiers for covert military operations in the Outer Colonies—is deactivated. Though the soldiers were effective, their abilities fall short of original expectations, and they are far too expensive to develop and field. The soldiers in the program are reassigned to various special operations units.

**July 4th:** The first successful cloning of a full human brain is performed.

**August 23rd:** Fondor is discovered and turned into another major shipyard world for the UNSC marking shipyards up to seven.

**2507:**

_UNSC Colony Circumstance, Koletre-Browning University._

It was a traditional college room with multiple elevated seats within a circular room all facing in the direction of a single desk before multiple black boards and holo-displays.

Currently, there were displays of the human anatomy though in a digital sense as in actuality it was an AI that the class was studying.

Before the class stood a young man with brown hair and blue eyes with a fair complexion. There was a slight ruggedness to him, indicating a more battered or seasoned individual if one could call him that.

The trained eye of a marine or ODST would spot a soldier when they see one.

Though he was no ordinary soldier so to speak.

No he was a unique case amongst most UNSC personnel.

_***THRRRRRRRRRR*** _

The class looked up from their work, hearing the sound of the bell indicating that class was over and it was time to move on to their next lessons.

They began standing up out of their seats, packing away their books and data pads whilst their professor spoke up.

"Alright students, remember you have finals coming up and once again I would like you all to thank Mr. Alec Ryder on your way out for being today's guest speaker." A Mon Cala Professor said as human, Wookiee, and Mon Cala students filtered out of the classroom, thanking Alec Ryder.

Alec, former Orion operative as of last year was honorably discharged from service due to not bringing in the results the UNSC wanted. He was a bit miffed but could understand their reasoning so to speak. Most of the operatives that had undergone the experimental augmentation wound up having their bodies rejecting the invasive substances.

They were just too developed and it proved to be a danger so to speak as several had begun developing symptoms of degenerative conditions that led to a litany of physical and mental problems for some of the personnel that volunteered.

Thankfully, he was not one of them.

After being released from the UNSC, Alec pursued AI advancements seeing how important they can be in the field of battle and helped reduce lives being lost to the insurrection. He can attest to this as they had been instrumental in several conflicts against the Insurrection, one of which was during Operation CHARLEMAGNE in later 2497.

As he was packing away his equipment, one young student approached him from behind.

"Excuse me, Alec Ryder I presume."

He turned to see a young teen human, female with jet black hair and silvery blue eyes.

"Yes that would be me." Alec said with a nod. "May I help you with anything? The presentation is already over miss… "

"Halsey, Catherine Halsey."

"Halsey?" Alec repeated, deep in thought for a moment. "You mean the same Halsey that has been the talk of the school ever since I stepped foot on the university? That Halsey?"

Halsey only smirked slightly though she nodded with a slight reverence in her tone as she addressed the former Orion Candidate. "I'm very impressed with your work on the AI coding matrix. It sounds far more complex than most of what I've read as of late."

Alec shook his head with a rueful smile. "Only in theory seeing as the technology is limited at the moment. There are several key components my work is missing for this to be applicable."

Halsey hummed aloud. "What if I were to tell you that your theory can be possible."

Alec, who had finished packing away his equipment, paused in placing his bag upon his shoulders and turned to the young student in a confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

**2508**

**April 1st**

He stood facing the ship that would take him from home by himself.

For the most part.

"Are you sure about this son?"

"You can always wait another year, Franklin."

Franklin Mendez smiled, despite himself.

He turned back towards his parents, both of whom were here to see him off. He had enlisted within the UNSC and would be departing from his home of Sigma Octanus IV. His ship would take him to Reach, the military capital of the UNSC.

Though the planet itself has many shipyards to boast, it was not a designated shipyard planet. Reach was the planet where quite literally anything and everything in regards to warfare would be developed. Marines, ODST's, Special Ops and many other military and naval units conducted their training there along with multiple weapons manufactures and industrial complexes mixed in with the agricultural aspects of the planet.

There's a reason why Reach is often called the sister planet of Earth.

"I'm sure about this mom." Franklin said determinedly. "I know my calling when I see it."

He had long since gotten permission from his parents in regard to enlisting in the UNSC. They promised him upon reaching the age of sixteen, he was allowed to enlist.

That was now eleven days ago.

He had been prepping for the duration of that time, spending his last few days with friends and family as he knew it would be some time until he would see them all again.

His father, while saddened to see him go at a young age nonetheless encouraged his boy to pursue what he believed in.

The two had silent moments together, hunting, exercising and such as the days went by until his time to depart from home.

His mother of course was a slightly different matter.

She didn't wish to hinder her little boy but she didn't wish to let him go. She had hugged him goodnight every single day since his birthday for minutes upon hours.

He could understand her hesitation of letting him go.

But still, she would not discourage hi,.

Delay him maybe but not discourage.

"Rawr."

Franklin smirked despite himself, looking over to his Wookiee friend that stood with several of his other friends that had come to see him off.

"Don't worry fuzzball, it's not that you're gonna be alone." Mendez remarked making several of his friends chortle aloud.

"It's not that, Franky." A Mon Cala friend stated. "It's just that Racca is upset that he won't have a proper partner to wrestle with anymore."

"Oh is that it?" Franklin said with a dry, joking tone. "I'm just your favorite punching bag?"

"Grr, Grr, Grr." Racca the Wookiee shook in laughter.

He stepped forward to his friend and from the belt strapped around his shoulder pulled out an intricately designed knife.

A Ryyk blade.

Or dagger in this case.

Racca held it out for Franklin to take which he did.

He stared at it in slight astonishment, taking note of the design, metal and the many carvings ingrained into the blade and handle itself.

It was his friend's insignias.

Mendez smiled again.

"Oh, look at that." A Male human friend joked. "Franklin Mendez smiled more than once in a single day. Somebody mark the fucking calendar."

"Piss off Merv." Franklin shot back.

Their little exchange was abruptly cut short by the announcement of the departure of Mendez's' ship that would go to Reach.

Franklin sighed, steeling himself a moment later.

"There's the music." he said to those gathered with many holding solemn or saddened expressions.

"Take care Franky."

"Be sure to write."

"Or Visit at least."

"Ragh."

"Yeah, what he said."

Franklin only nodded with a slight smile before turning to his parents.

No words were needed as the family embraced in one final hug, pulling away after a few moments.

His mother planted one last kiss upon his cheek with his father simply patting him on the shoulder.

It was time.

With one last look at his friends and family, Franklin Mendez swung his bag over his shoulder and went towards the ship that would take him to his new home.

**2509**

**May 9th:** Annaxes is discovered, making it the last major shipyard world for the UNSC. All eight shipyards would play pivotal roles in the coming conflicts for the duration of the century.

**August 8:** Dr. Catherine Halsey makes the first entry in her journal following her enlistment in ONI's service and arrival on Reach

**August 15:** Thomas Lasky is born in Tricode Village, Mare Erythraeum on Mars.

**August 22:** Edward Buck is born in New Albany, Lombard, on Draco III.

By this year, many rebel cells had combined under the leadership of Robert Watts, proudly referring to themselves at the United Rebel Front.

_Journal Entry V_

_It is a strange concept looking back on this year in particular._

_From 2510 up to the end of 2526, many key individuals would be born within this timeframe with several others that had been born decades prior being associated with them due to the role they would play in the decades to come._

_Such a simple yet effective title and it took nearly 565 long years to at last have a new group that would be dubbed the "Greatest Generation"._

**2511**

**January 3:** All data pertaining to the planet Onyx is deemed classified.

**February 15:** Dr. Catherine Halsey delineates the fundamentals of the SPARTAN-II program, specifically her refinements in relation to the ORION Project.

**February 23:** Dr. Halsey learns of a terrorist with the Freedom and Liberation Party that detonated a commercial nuclear explosive in the Haven arcology and proceeds to log this in her journal.

**March 5:** Jorge-052 is born in Pálháza on Reach.

**March 7:** John-117 is born in Elysium City on Eridanus II.

**March 19:** Linda-058 is born on Verent.

**April 3:** Fred-104 is born on Ballast.

**April 21:** Douglas-042 is born on Asphodel.

**May 8:** Jerome-092 is born on Minister.

**May 16:** Caleb-095 is born in Newport on Luyten.

**July 10:** Samuel-034 is born on Harvest.

**July 17:** Alice-130 is born on Passage.

**July 30:** Dr. Catherine Halsey outlines the basis of the piezoelectric mechanical enhancement of what would become the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor.

**September 8:** Dr. Halsey writes down her thoughts regarding the recent breakthroughs on human neural cloning in relation to the flash cloning of the SPARTAN-II candidates. She informs Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth that the project will proceed to the candidate procurement stage.

**September 15:** Naomi-010 is born on Sansar.

**September 21:** Kelly-087 is born on Imber.

**October 19:** Kurt-051 is born in Mira on Circumstance.

**October 22:** A report is made onForerunner artifacts that are found during routine excavations in an area designated Zone 67.

Most of the future SPARTAN-IIs are born in this year.

_Journal Entry VI_

_This year… is where it all began for them._

_Though they didn't know it. The individuals that would eventually be chosen were unaware of the genesis in the making that had been undergoing extensive planning for Six Years._

_And they were only the first._

_I had originally intended it to be extremely selective but I was fortunate enough to have at least been able to choose once._

_When dealing with ONI, singular made choices were often a luxury not to be overlooked or taken frog granted. Upon receiving such a matter, I got to work right away making sure that I would pick the very best._

_The genetic code, the DNA, the make up the physiology, everything was taken into account._

_These_ Spartans _would be the finest human specimens the UNSC will ever produce. Or ONI if you wish to be more technical._

_The journey was long but in my heart, I don't regret any of it. The pain, the trials and tribulations that came with it reinforced my resolve._

_Everything they endured would not be in vain._

_I made sure of it._

_End of Journal Entry._

**2512**

**October 25:** Wedge Antilles, Future Ace Fighter Pilot is born.

**2513**

**January:** The United Rebel Front retakes Eridanus II.

**June 19:** Dr. Catherine Halsey decides upon the final name of the SPARTAN-II program, up until tentatively referred to as "ORION Project Generation Two".

Latest possible release of Pelican and Warthog series to the UNSC.

**2516**

**July 19th:** The UNSC Hammerhead Cruiser officially entered service. First Dozen unveiled from Mon Calamari shipyards.

_-Mon Cala-_

Vice Admiral Preston Cole stood within one of the observation decks of the shipyard ring around Mono Calamari, watching the dozen Hammerhead Cruisers on their first voyage through space.

These were a uniquely designed brand new style of ships that reflected the ingenuity of all three species of the United iNtergalactic Space Command all coming together to make something new.

His face was stoic, unreadable yet within his eyes were a sense of exhaustion.

He would have figured that after learning of his wife's disappearance and her being an Insurrectionist leader, his career would have been shot down in flames. However, the UNSC command opted to keep him as he was deemed too valuable of an individual to be disregarded and discharged.

So, Cole pressed on, serving the UNSC faithfully whilst keeping a lookout for his wayward Insurrectionist wife.

Of course he'd fall in love with the enemy.

The universe loved its ironies at times and playing jokes on the larger galaxy at whole. He was happy, fleeting as it was.

"What's on your mind, old friend?"

Cole didn't have to look behind him to see who it was that had walked over to speak with him.

"Nothing, Raddus." Cole stated calmly.

Raddus snorted. "You can fool most of our colleagues with your aloofness but not me, Cole."

Rear-Admiral Raddus was an old Mon Calamari friend Preston had made at the start of his UNSC career, the two having been friends for twenty-two years by this point.

Meeting in 2495, the two at first had a bit of a rivalry with one another in their fledgling careers yet soon grew to realize the unique chemistry between each other brought out the best in one another.

After discovering their love for unorthodox tactics, being in the thick of action and some grade-A bourbon, the two enjoyed a roaring friendship for two decades now.

"What is it, Cole?" Raddus asked calmly. "I've seen that look too many times to know that something is bothering your thoughts."

"Just thinking about where to put my farm, Raddus." Cole replied evenly making the Mon Cala snort in derision.

"If it's about Lyrenne then.."

"Don't Raddus." Cole's tone was sharp. "Just… don't."

Raddus however was not to be deterred.

"There's still no sign of her." He stated. "I've looked through datafiles, reports, briefings and-"

"You realize what shit luck I have with women and kids?" Cole dryly cut him off.

Raddus felt for his friend. He truly did.

An esteemed strategist, tactician and war hero, Cole had done a great deal for the effort against the Insurrection.

In almost every single battle after the disappearance of his wife Lyrenne, Preston had single handedly changed the tide on several occasions with effective and brutal victories.

The Insurrectionist forces that he had engaged had either suffered devastating losses or were completely driven from the system until returning after hearing of Cole's departure.

When UNSC high-com learned of his marriage to Lyrenne, he was interrogated thoroughly yet with Raddus' intervention as well as their personal friend Vice-Admiral Michael Stanforth along with Cole's personal military record, they were able to preserve his rank and reputation. Most just chalked it up to the stress of war and combat to his misjudgment but even then, Raddus knew that Cole was simply looking for happiness.

He just wanted to settle on a farm one day, beneath the stars of a planet that were not of Earth's origin.

"Have you heard from your kids?" Raddus asked.

"Well, of the five, four seem to be doing alright." Cole somberly stated. "The other… probably enjoyed their thirteenth birthday by this point."

Raddus patted his friends back.

"You'll be alright, Cole." Raddus said. "I've got your back."

Cole remained silent, giving his Mon Cala friend a silent nod of appreciation.

"How's Ackbar doing?" Cole asked after several minutes of silence.

"Well enough." Raddus said approvingly. "Promoted to Captain recently though I give it another two years or something along those lines before he breaks into the admiral ranks. The Navy will be in good hands for the next few years."

"Seems to be." Cole said. "Heard from Cutter that we got a couple of 'Super Rookies' on our hands."

"Oh? Any names I might know?" Raddus inquired.

"A Jacob Keyes, I think his name was." Cole said. "Heard he can be a bit of a reckless one. But his tactics and strategies are sound."

"Kinda sounds like us." Raddus remarked. "Gial mentioned this Wookiee that he had met earlier who seems to hold a lot of potential. Says he's gonna be made a captain soon after two years of service."

Cole simply nodded again. The UNSC has been building up arms as they usually would but the threat of the United Rebel Front was becoming drastic and dire. They needed means of countering these Insurrectionists sooner than later.

The advent of the Starfighter corps was a great shift in the tide with the UNSC holding mostly superiority over the URF.

But they were tenacious and difficult to quell.

When one was crushed, another would simply rise up to take its place.

Dodonna and Hackett spoke of Gilad having success with the Rebels in his sector but they persisted in their efforts against the UNSC.

It was getting out of hand with casualties beginning to mount on both sides.

But…

Cole couldn't deny a lingering feeling of dread.

Everything that had been happening was nothing new in regard to human history.

A small force uprising to secede from a government they no longer wish to affiliate with. Nothing new there.

Yet Cole couldn't shake the feeling that the UNSC was on the precipice of all-out war.

It was unfortunate how right the Vice-Admiral was though against a much more different enemy.

**2517**

**August 16th**

Catherine Halsey stood within her workstation, overlooking her work with a diligent and razor focused demeanor.

These past six years have been one of the longest in her entire life.

It all went by like a blur as she was overlooking her results right now, but during that time…

She found them. All of them.

Though only half could be used, she'd make sure this half would be pushed and trained to their absolute limits and beyond.

Halsey only hoped they were prepared for these coming years as she would like to believe.

Her team had been handpicked and assembled.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez will be the Commanding Officer of this program and head trainer. Perhaps one of the absolute finest soldiers the UNSC had ever produced. Enlisting at a young age, Mendez's files showed him as a soldier with skill far beyond his peers. His hand-to-hand combat is regarded as the absolute best and after besting their next candidate in an all-out spar, it was deemed so by all of ONI and the UNSC.

High Chieftain Tarfful of the Wookiee brotherhood. He has nearly a hundred years of experience under his belt and is a fierce warrior who has been leading his people for decades. He had trained many UNSC personnel, regarded as a legend among the navy with many high ranking Humans, Wookiees and Mon Cala having had their tutelage directly under Tarfful. The first man to beat him was none other than Mendez with the Wookiee Chieftain bestowing upon him his Ryyk blade and exclaiming him to be his sworn brother.

To ensure this little detail, Tarfful showed his cultural awareness by utilizing the ancient Japanese ritual of exchanging Sakazuki cups. From then on, both were brothers in the human and Wookiee sense.

It still surprises me how the Wookiees integrated that facet into their culture yet it fits them quite well.

Now that we have our two heavy hitters that would "whip them into shape" as the old adage goes, we have our more intelligence based members in this program.

Aside from myself, ONI has kept their alliance with the Kaminoans strong with the long necked species providing them one of their absolute best geneticists.

Taun We, the administrative aid to the Prime Minister of Kamino himself was given to us.

She is like all her species, tall and slender with some stating she holds a more elegant and refined beauty to her. Soft spoken and gentle in nature, she is the ideal individual needed to provide the Spartan trainees with the necessary nurture to help them overcome internal strife whenever Mendez or Tarfful wouldn't cut it. Her coordination and planning skills are unparalleled, even by AI standards. Mapping out the natural means of pushing the candidates beyond what they're capable of at the right point in time.

With her, the later phases of the program may prove more fruitful than anticipated.

The last of Halsey's assembled crew was an AI of her own personal design named Deja.

A more higher functioning dumb AI then most, Deja has the figure of a Greek Goddess being barefooted while garbed in a serene white toga, golden band around her head and cascading black hair. How apt that she would resemble a woman of the time in which the program is named after.

Halsey looked over the 150 individuals that were found before marking the 75 chosen candidates and dismissing the other half.

These 75 would be her Spartans.

They would be the key to salvation for the UNSC. For humanity, the Wookies, Mon Calamari and possibly the Kaminoans if they ever get involved.

For a brief moment, Halsey recalls the moment that solidified her decision for this program.

There is an ancient saying.

"The beginning of wisdom is ignorance."

So where do we begin to create the ultimate warrior?

With innocence.

He was rough, so to speak.

Though he was fierce. Determined and unyielding, he was exactly what she was looking for when she started this program and then some.

Halsey knew she had to do this. For the first one at least.

Franklin however chose the slightly alternative route after being talked into it by Tarfful.

They had seen at least several dozen of the candidates, maybe about 36 or more.

Each one made sure to spot what makes them excel and how they can use what they saw to push them past what they presume themselves to be capable of.

They were already working ahead of time.

She knew she had made the right choices with those two.

Does she have regrets? Yes, of course she did.

But now was no longer the time to dwell on these matters.

Now… it was time to get to work.

**September 23rd**

Catherine Halsey stood within the center of an amphitheater with Tuan We at her right and Deja at her left.

Mendez and Tarfful stood toward the staircase off the theater to the far right, with all five individuals facing the newly assembled 75 Spartan-II's.

They were all here, ready to begin the arduous process of molding them into the eventual sword and shield of the UNSC.

Before she had arrived, Halsey had read the reports of all the procedures of their abduction and was pleasantly surprised to see some were already displaying traits that were quite unique then how most six year old's reacted.

The one with the blue hair, 087, had apparently dodged her abductors for nearly six-hours until she had come out and believed it to be a game of hide and seek due to her birthday.

Another, 006, had attempted escape twice on his way to Reach. They had a tricky one on their hands.

No matter, they were all present and accounted for.

These 75 will become what ONI had asked for.

Halsey hears their confused murmurings, nervous tones and wants to go home.

She quashed any rising feelings of guilt and stood up straight with her hands behind her back.

"Per Naval Code 45812 you are hereby conscripted into UNSC special project codenamed Orion-II also known as Spartan-II." Halsey spoke in a controlled and professional voice. "Your parents are gone. The planet Reach is your new home. Your fellow trainees are your new family."

The kids all looked at one another in blatant confusion. Some were curious and seemed open to the idea. Others, not so much.

"Each of you have been hand selected and called to serve." Halsey went on, regaining the attention of the candidates. "Your bodies are already faster and stronger than other children. And _we_ are going to make them even better."

The children were unsure of what to make of this declaration.

They were always faster and stronger than most kids their age, but this lady just told them that they would become even better. How?

There was a Wookiee on the stage with them. Would he help?

Everyone knows that Wookiees are the strongest species they had ever encountered in space.

Then there was that long-necked alien standing next to the lady. Some recognized her species, others, not so much.

"Children."

The long necked alien spoke in a calming and kind voice. It was almost in a motherly fashion.

"I am Taun We. Please follow me to the mess hall." She spoke elegantly. "I shall have you all fed before Chief Mendez and Chieftain Tarfful will take you to your sleeping quarters."

Choosing not to say no to a free meal, the children all filed out of the auditorium and followed after Taun with Mendez falling in line behind them.

Deja blinked out from beside her and Halsey let out a haggard, shaky sigh.

There was a shiver down her spine with her covering her mouth with a hand, eyes closed. She trembled slightly until she felt a warm hand upon her shoulder.

Looking over, she saw Tarfful gazing at her with worry letting out a questioning growl.

She blinked, realizing she had tears formed on the corner of her eyes and quickly wiped them away.

"Apologies, Tarfful, I didn't mean to-"

"Raaww re." Tarfful cut her off.

She silently stared at the Chieftain before a small smile wormed its way onto her face.

Leave it to the fierce, warrior bound Wookiees to be the gentle softies they really are. It was a running joke at how easily a Wookiee could cheer up just about anyone with a few selective and considered words.

"You're right." Halsey remarked. "I made my choice now and I shall see it through to the end."

There was a snort from Tarfful making Halsey chuckle, reaching up to pat his hand appreciatively.

"And I am thankful I'm not alone."

_Journal Entry VII_

_Tarfful was a godsend every time I think about him._

_Looking back on him, he made sure that I pressed on no matter how guilty my consciousness weighed upon me._

_Like he told me the day we began, this was something he and Mendez would share with me._

_The burden of creating our Spartans._

_I am more thankful to Tarfful than ever after everything we had endured._

_He went above and beyond what was asked of him._

_But I'm once again getting ahead of myself._

_I'll elaborate more at a later time._

_For now, I just wanted to make sure that Tarfful was recognized by all of the UNSC and galaxy._

_Taun We was the motherly figure and older sister to the Spartans with Mendez as the father._

_Tarfful was their big brother who saw them through to the end._

_Each and every one of them._

_And I couldn't be more thankful to him,_

_End of Journal Entry._

**So, I've seen those reviews, I've seen those questions and it fills me with delight and glee at the coming prospects that BSX and I are gonna explore.**

**I firmly believe you will all be pleasantly surprised within the next two chapters.**

**I do love the approval so many of you had that we started with Wookiees, Kaminoans and Mon Calamari as the species humanity would meet first over the more entirely humanoid species of the Star Wars universe with headpieces.**

**BSX and I felt that having them meet the usual species that many of you listed out as their first encounters may come across as missing opportunities to have unique interactions and such with such a diverse cast of aliens from the Star Wars universe. That's not to say they're not in this one. It's just we have a lot planned with our selection of species.**

**We made sure to list out the species from each franchise, link them together with their distinct histories and relationships with some future species… that I will not divulge about right now cause I want to leave you guys wanting more.**

**BSX: Your question regarding the Force, Jedi, Sith and droids. They will not be making appearances in this story at ALL. The narrative we want to tell is that of Halo and Mass Effect lore, some Star Wars elements we will be borrowing from and some will not.**

**FMW: And in regard to the star wars elements, trust me when we say this, they will be used as effectively as possible with a grand scope in mind. We're taking this story and it's trajectory very seriously with how much planning has gone into it.**

**BSX: As for blaster technology for those who are wondering, that too won't happen either instead the Starfighters the UNSC have will use armaments that the YSS-1000 Sabre uses. Shields will come later, way later.**

**So yeah, that's all we got for you for now.**

**If you have any requests or questions, feel free to ask me or BSX as we'll answer to the best of our abilities.**

**No spoilers obviously cause dur.**

**Other than that, thanks for reading folks.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	3. Everyone has their first steps

**Alright, so, moving right along thanks for those reviews some made me chuckle especially the UNSC bit and I stand by it cheesy as it is**

**Now there are some species that have been brought up like the Quarren and Trandoshans. They were intentionally omitted from the story as a whole as they were not a part of the story we wanted to tell.**

**As a whole, BSX and I have selected twelve species from the Star Wars franchise and integrated them into the main story. We feel with the several dozen species we have within this story, it's enough to tell as cohesive a narrative as we can.**

**We have, let's just say, a lot of content.**

**Some of the reviews I saw got me jittery with excitement cause I cannot wait to get to the crazier aspects of this story with BSX.**

**It's gonna be awesome.**

**So let's not waste any time then.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 3: Everyone has their first steps

**2517**

**September 24th**

This was day one of the Spartan-II program.

The day their new lives began.

They were split into various teams of three to five, all having differing colors.

Blue, Red, Green, Gray, Black and so on.

Their first set of lessons involved basic training, 100 sit ups, pushups, crunches and pull ups followed by a 5 kilometer run.

They were introduced to their teachers, Taun We and AI Deja who introduced them to Sun Tzu and his famed book the Art of War wherein every individual received a copy to be read, studied and understood front and back.

On top of that, they had learned why they were being called Spartans to begin with.

Deja recanted the tale of Thermopylae, wherein a few hundred Spartans withstood the might of thousands if not millions of soldiers.

This of course made them all cheer and grin at the prospect of being molded into the namesake of their program.

To be able to withstand so much with so few.

The entire first day eventually culminated into the trainees running up a hill to ring a bell with their assigned teams.

It ended with this current situation...

John fell hard to ground, confused.

He had gotten to the top of the hill first. Why was he the one being punished?

The other two kids, the girl 087 and the boy 034 were looking down at him with very upset faces. Chief Mendez stood over the trainee, holding him down with his boot and a look of disapproval on his face.

Tarfful the Wookiee chieftain barked out, shooing the other trainees away save for 087 and 034.

"I don't understand." A young John said in bewilderment. "I got to the top first."

"You got to the bell first." Mendez acknowledged. "But your team came in last. And you don't win unless your team wins."

Removing his foot from John's chest, Mendez walked away with 087 and 034 leaving their teammate behind.

117 lay there on the ground, unmoving and staring up at the ceiling with a defeated expression. Upon replaying the reasoning behind his loss today, John realized he had no one else to blame but himself. Chief Mendez was right.

He lost because he failed to work with his team.

"Hey, you alright?"

John tilted his head up and saw the team leader of the group that had placed first. He saw the number 051 on his tank top.

The boy was his age, as was most of the other trainees with buzz cut brown hair and hazel eyes.

051 held out a helping hand which 117 accepted.

"Thanks." John said appreciatively.

"No problem." 051 said cheerfully. "I'm Kurt."

"Um… John." 117 said.

"Saw you running up the hills really fast." Kurt remarked with a look of awe in his eyes.

"Yeah but I still ended up losing." John said bitterly. "I left my team behind."

"Well just say sorry then." Kurt stated as if it were the most simple thing in the world.

"How can I say sorry to them?" John stated in a dejected manner. "Because of me, they can't eat."

"Then you can have some of mine and give it to your team." Kurt said with a cheerful grin.

"Wh-what?" John was certainly surprised by the offer. "Why would you do that? Won't you get in trouble?"

Kurt however shook his head and waved John off.

"I think we should all help each other." Kurt said, grin still in place. "Remember what that lady said? We're all a family now. That means we look out for each other. No matter what."

John had his head down for a moment before he himself had a small smile.

"Thanks Kurt. I'll pay you back somehow." John said with 051 merely grinning again and patting 117 on the shoulder.

Entering the mess hall a few minutes later, 117 scanned the various tables of the 75 other trainees seeing most sitting with their teammates.

Spotting who he had been looking for, John walked over to them both who were sitting alone with their heads hung low.

"Hey guys." John said softly, making them both look up to him.

087 and 034 only scrunched up their faces in distaste at the sight of their team leader.

"What do you want?" 034 asked with a bitter voice.

John held out a small bag that he was carrying behind his back and set it down. It was revealed to contain two loaves of bread with a few crackers.

"I'm sorry about today." John said straight away. "I know it's not much but-"

"Thank you." 087 said with a pleasant smile.

Even 034's expression became more neutral yet it was slightly guarded.

"I… I never introduced myself properly." 117 said. "I'm John."

"Kelly." 087 said.

"I'm Sam."

Sitting down with them, they ate their small little meal in silence.

"About today guys, I should have helped when you asked Sam." John said after a few moments. "It's cause of me that we didn't get to eat."

Sam didn't respond, munching on his bread until he said calmly. "It's ok John. This is our first day."

"It won't happen again." John assured a moment later. "Promise."

Kelly only smiled at him with Sam nodding.

"We can be friends… I mean if you want." Sam shrugged noncommittedly. "It'd be no big deal."

Kelly only nodded in approval. "Sure."

John was also pretty happy. "Yeah, Friends."

**September 28th**

The first four days of training were as arduous as Mendez and Tarfful promised them to be.

Day in and day out, it was nothing but PE and classes.

Since that time, John-117 had held true to his statements from before to Sam and Kelly and had made sure to never leave them behind.

They had rung the bell now together every time, coming in either third or second for the most part with today being the first time they came in fourth.

Red Team had stepped up with their leader Jerome-092 managing a daring full frontal charge with his teammates Douglas-042 and Alice-130.

Green Team had Kurt-051 leading them and they had come out on top the first three days.

Currently, John, Sam and Kelly were sitting with some new friends they had made the other day during a training exercise yesterday. Frederic-104 and Linda-058.

The five were joined by several other trainees being Fhajad-084, Jorge-052, Leon-011 and Riz-028.

They were all chatting and conversing with one another until they heard a commotion from the front of the cafeteria.

Many looked to the front to see a young boy being dragged away by two other officers, the kid kicking and squirming the entirety of the way.

"Who's that?" Linda asked aloud, curious.

"I think that was Jai." Leon answered.

"Jai?" Linda repeated.

"Oh, you mean Jai-006." Sam spoke up with a shake of his head.

"What'd he do?" John asked.

"Tried leaving the compound." Sam answered with a shrug.

"That was him?" Fhajad said in a surprised tone.

"I heard he got pretty far." Riz stated. "But they caught him eventually."

"Why would he try to leave?" Kelly asked.

"He doesn't want to be here I guess." Fred remarked with a shrug.

Over with the near escapee, he had stopped struggling at last allowing them to drag him to his quarters.

All the while, the young Spartan-II had his eyes dart about his surroundings making sure to take note of windows and certain angles as well as cameras within every hallway.

A small grin began appearing on his face as he already had a few new escape plans in mind.

**October 25th**

The trainees were running up a large hill they dubbed _Little Everest._

It was one that they had been taken to from their usual training facility up to here, the key point of this training being exposed to new environments.

With them was Chieftain Tarfful, roaring and barking at them to pick up the pace as he went from running beside them to swinging through the trees on the mountainside.

It was blisteringly cold but the enviro suits they wore managed to keep the cold out to a degree.

Intentionally.

They had to rely on constant movement to keep themselves warm lest the cold gets to them first.

It had already been a month now and they were beginning to get accustomed to their usual training. Of course, upon seeing this, Mendez and Tarfful completely flipped it around for them, basically setting them back to square one.

But they wouldn't do this on their own.

They made sure to support one another and push each other forward.

John-117 and Kurt-051 especially stood out for the first day, having themselves constantly speeding up or slowing down even to their own detriment in order to make sure no man gets left behind.

Several other Spartans had stepped up in their own manner, assisting their brethren in the way they knew best.

Will-043 was constantly making jokes and quips while coming up with riddles on the spot with Sam-034 joining in on the fun a few times.

Grace-093 and Jorge-052 were the calm and collected, gentle ones who spoke softly though encouragingly to their brothers and sisters.

Douglas-042 appeared to be completely nonplussed and utterly determined, constantly stating that they would overcome this mountain because they had beaten the last training regime. Getting used to and conquering Little Everest was only a matter of time.

**November 19th**

A lone Spartan-II sat upon a tree stump at the edge of the compound, looking up to the sky. He had jet black hair and brown eyes with a light scratch on his chin.

The sun was already setting by this point but the young trainee didn't care that much.

The light of the sun near Reach reflected perfectly off the sleek X-wings that zoomed by.

He grinned up at them, taking a bite out of his meal.

"Daniel-116, why are you out here and not in the mess hall with the others?"

The young Spartan jolted from the tree stump he sat upon and jumped up, standing attention.

"Sir."

Chief Mendez eyed the boy, looking from his form to the food he had taken from the cafeteria to here.

"Spartan-116, you did not answer my previous question." Mendez stated giving the boy a sharp gaze.

"I was enjoying the view, sir." Daniel-116 replied in a professional manner.

Mendez raised a confused brow. "Enjoying the view?"

Daniel simply looked up at the sky with Mendez following suit, just in time to see a few X-wings fly by with Arc-wings and several pelicans as well.

"The ships?" Mendez said.

"X-wings." 116 clarified. "I've always wanted to fly one."

Mendez regarded the Spartan-II, expression solemn.

It had been two months since the start of this training and like Halsey and Taun We were led to believe, many of the trainees were getting accustomed to their training regime.

And yet, they still displayed actions akin to children.

It's easy to forget at times they have these moments.

"You wish to be a pilot, 116?" Mendez inquired.

"I've always wanted to fly." Daniel stated with a grin. "With X-wings I can."

Mendez found himself smirking slightly. "Do you now?"

116 nodded when his face scrunched up in thought.

"Will we be able to learn how to fly?" Daniel asked after a moment.

Chief Mendez hummed to himself. "That remains for me to be seen, 116. Next time you leave the Cafeteria, report it to an acting Officer."

Daniel simply snapped into a salute. "Sir!"

"As you were Spartan." Mendez said, walking away from the lad who seated himself back on the tree stump with the Arc-wings passing by this time.

**December 25th**

Tarfful roared aloud in pride at the sight of the 75 trainees all panting in exhaustion though they remained standing.

It was a grueling sparring session with teams of five all attempting to bring down the Wookiee Chieftain with each one suffering defeat.

This was to be expected of course as Tarfful was a warrior renowned among his people as well as many human and Mon Cala marines and soldiers.

But these kids, while they had each lasted no more than a few minutes each was all he needed to see. It spoke volumes to him to see his trainees displaying such potential and progress in only three months' time with their tenacity coming through.

They were battered and bruised but not beaten.

Each made sure to lean or support one another to keep themselves standing.

Tarfful snorted in approval beginning to break down each team and each individual on their fighting styles, approach in taking him down, where they excelled and where they needed improvement.

They all listened in rapt attention with their older Wookiee brother making sure to point out every single one of them before proudly proclaiming them to have greater destinies ahead of them.

The Spartan-II's only hoped they would live up to their trainers expectations.

_John 117_

_Blue team mission repo-_

_Journal entry 1_

_I was told that this may help in having clear thoughts._

_Mendez and Tarfful told me that it was a mission report and catalog of my progress._

_They encouraged the rest to have the same._

_Personal thoughts and all I guess. Don't really have much._

_..._

_Sam is my best friend. First thing that came to mind really since they mentioned personal thoughts and all._

_He and I just know how to work with each other. It's really funny._

_We didn't get off on the best foot but I'm glad now he trusts me so much._

_The other Spartans are pretty nice too. Kurt and Jorge are always helping everyone they can, same for a few others._

_Kelly and Sam are always with me. Sometimes Linda and Fred join in too for training missions._

_I… don't really know what else to say._

_It's been three months so far and every day and night, Mendez lives up to what he told us on his first day._

_It would be nothing but training._

_Guess that's all I can think of for now._

_End of Journal Entry._

_Jai-006 Journal Entry 2_

_Today marks my… eighth time I tried getting out of here._

_Adrianna and I make it a game now._

_It's really funny seeing how the guards and officers get all confused whenever they lose track of us._

_Wonder how else we can get out of here?_

_There's a lot more openings then they realize._

_Just the other day, Adrianna pointed out a blind spot in between the hallways that exit out of the cafeteria from the south entrance._

_We'll try that one next._

_End of Journal Entry_

_Sam-034 Journal entry 1_

_It's funny seeing John try to figure out what to say for his journal entry._

_Mendez and Tarfful all encouraged us to have one._

_Sounds like fun really._

_Can let loose without anyone peeking in unless I let them and those I would allow are a pretty small crop._

_Training's been going well enough I suppose._

_Tarfful thrashed us something special when we went up against him. I saw it eating at John. He really wanted to win. Hell I did too._

_But how in the hell are we supposed to do that with a Wookiee Chieftain?_

_They're like the best of the best in the UNSC. I think only the ODST's and Mon Cala knights come close to them in combat._

_Maybe with all this training we'll eventually get to beat one._

_I hope._

_Still, least I got my brothers and sisters by my side. Figure we'll get through anything together._

_End Of Journal Entry._

_Mendez Mission report #16_

_The training is proceeding at an admirable rate._

_The Spartan-II's have been proceeding at a steady pace and already they've been displaying great progress on varying fields._

_117, 051, 116, 051 and 084 have displayed great aptitude in effectively leading their squads and the other Spartans in most circumstances._

_104, I've noted, seems to be intentionally holding himself back. He is more subtle in his approach until I placed him in his own squad where he performed with a tactical and proficient mind which led his team into finishing second, just behind Green team. I'm keeping my eye on him._

_037 has shown an aptitude for leading in the middle of combat taking note of his surroundings and pointing out flaws in attack patterns._

_028 is focused and razor sharp in her training, a more subdued 130, who appears to completely thrive in this training._

_043 and 042 work well with 052. Some may even call them the moral center of the Spartan-II program along with 051. 141 shares similar traits as well._

_Of them all, the main problem children appear to have is 006, 111 and 120._

_These three have caused many headaches for a majority of the officers, security guards and drill sergeants involved in the program._

_Trying to curb these rebellious traits appeared to have backfired with them only trying harder to get themselves out of the base._

_Their resolve is rather admirable if it wasn't so insubordinate._

_134 has shown that he can step up when the usual squad leaders are not around to assist, going off of prior orders and formulating logical conclusions._

_The rest of the Spartans have yet to show any other distinguishing traits among themselves but if what I have spoken of is any indication of what is to come, they just haven't developed it yet._

_End of Mission Report._

**2518**

**May 13th**

Daniel-116 grasped the controls of his simulated X-wing with a manic grin.

He was leading Silver Team in this training op with Yumi-124, Nicole-121, Caleb-095 and Joyner-118 as his squad.

Currently, their objective was to take out the enemy fighters of Green Team composed of Kurt-051, Will-043, Musa-096, Joshua-029 and Rene-081.

Grinning maniacally, gunned his thrusters with his squad mates right on his tail.

"Yumi, Caleb." 116 sent out orders. "Chandelle turn, 081 is lagging behind. Nicole, stay on me. Joyner, gun ahead for a ram. See if you can scatter them."

Off to the side, the rest of the Spartans watched the simulated dogfight with Mendez, Taun We and Tarfful observing next to them.

"It appears that Daniel is enjoying this simulation." Taun noted in her soft voice with Tarfful growling out an agreement. "Indeed."

"That remains to be seen, Chieftain." Mendez said calmly, though his eyes trailed over an impressive J-turn 116 had pulled off managing to take out 095.

He was truly excelling as a pilot, far more than his brothers and sisters and seemed to be completely at home in a cockpit despite this only being their fifth simulated piloting class.

116 was a natural leader, similar to the other standouts yet to Mendez there was also a missing ingredient he felt that didn't allow for Daniel to truly stand out.

Looks he had found his calling.

_Daniel-116 Journal entry 9_

_We got to fly again today._

_Not officially._

_Chief Mendez and Tarfful told us that wouldn't be until we're a bit older and our bodies a bit more developed._

_But it was amazing. Simulated or not, I just felt it in my bones._

_I need to get into an X-wing or Longsword soon._

_End of Journal Entry._

**August 11th**

Deja and Taun We were standing before the 75 Spartan-II's covering their next set of lessons.

They had gone over Sun Tzu and the Spartans of Thermopylae extensively by this point and had moved on to another religion and pantheon almost exclusive to the art of combat itself.

Norse Mythology.

"From the history of your people, dating back thousands of years, by this time there was the old belief of the warrior's death." Taun We recited, her gentle voice holding their attention. "They trained themselves every day in hopes of one day proving themselves to be worthy of ascending to the greatest plain of existence within their pantheon. The halls of Asgard where the warriors dined until Ragnarok, Valhalla."

The students were intrigued greatly by this with 037 saying 'Valhalla' under his breath in open wonder.

_Taun We Progress report #18_

_The children are coming along very well._

_They soak up everything we teach them with a great vigor that pleases me._

_Each of them holds so much potential just waiting to bloom._

_I am rather adverse to what we must do to achieve results but it is nothing my species has not done before._

_ONI shall get the soldiers they wish for and we will continue our experiments._

_When we had first met the UNSC with its three species, we were rather hesitant to engage with them yet they proved amiable and peaceful enough where we could at least have trade and a few projects we can work on together._

_Then came the discovery of the genetic diversity Humanity possessed and to a lesser extent the Wookiees and following after came the secret agreement between my people and ONI._

_There was much that was promised in secret but I was not expecting human children to be some of our test subjects._

_After Orion, we knew there would be an attempt again at creating enhanced and augmented soldiers. The idea was too good of a concept to pass._

_Imagine my surprise when it was the humans that came to us and showed that children were the best course of action._

_It was agreed rather quickly but now… I cannot deny that I am growing attached to these young Spartans._

_I wish for them all to succeed._

_The blueprints of things to come…_

_I shall not fail in these endeavors._

_End of Progress Report._

**December 10:** Dr. Catherine Halsey makes an entry in her journal where she identifies four Spartan-IIs that she, Tarfful and Franklin Mendez agree are the best candidates for leadership out of all the children in the program. Those four are Kurt-051, Jerome-092, Frederic-104, and John-117. Mendez is leaning towards Kurt but Halsey is confident that John is the best choice. Taun We points out Daniel-116, Leon-011, Margaret-053 and Jai-006 as potential leaders as well though Halsey notes that perhaps only 011 can be regarded on the level of the first mentioned four and 116 to a degree as he along with 053 and 006 seem more towards specialized teams and leadership roles.

_Jerome-092 Journal Entry 11_

_It's already been a year since we began our training._

_Our previous lives all feel like a distant and fuzzy memory by this point._

_We've been put through the ringer today… but it ended on something really special._

_A ceremony that Mendez and Tarfful held at the top of Little Everest._

**December 31st**

Chief Mendez and Tarfful all stood before a roaring bonfire with all 75 Spartan-II's sitting around them all.

There was an elaborately made table with 75 red cups with a giant bowl in the center of it all.

The kids gazed upon the setup with obvious confusion whilst Mendez addressed them all.

"Trainees." Mendez said aloud. "This past September was your first year anniversary into your steps in becoming Spartans. You have all had your failings but in those failings, you have shown exemplary and considerable improvements by leaps and bounds. I know I speak with great confidence on behalf of myself and Tarfful when we are proud to see you all perform as well as you have in such a short amount of time."

The trainees couldn't help but shift about with proud smiles and expressions at hearing their father figure and brother figure show such satisfaction at their progress.

Tarfful stepped forward, growling and moaning with a thump upon his chest which made the children sit up straighter.

The Wookiee chieftain singled out several Spartans that had been performing admirably these past few days before going over their accomplishments altogether.

Walking over to the table setup, he barked and growled with the kids beginning to stand up and approach the table each taking a red cup with curious expressions.

"These," Mendez pulled out a red cup of his own from within his uniform. "Are Sakazuki cups."

The kids looked at him inquisitively.

"From the Island Nation of Japan, there was an ancient tradition exchanged between individuals who held such close bonds that blood did not matter to them." Mendez said, going over to stand with Tarfful who now held his own cup. "Thus, the creation of a ritual of brotherhood was made. The exchange of Sakazuki. With these cups, an invisible bond, a brotherhood is forged. A sworn brotherhood that no matter where any individual is, they would be sworn brothers and sisters. Distance and blood is meaningless. They would be bonded in siblinghood until death claims them. You have all earned this right."

It was a strange affair as it was the first jumbled one so to speak since their first day of training.

Eventually, each trainee held a small red cup with some sake in it and they all held it up in the direction of Mendez and Tarfful.

A few of them clinked together, a few cheers were made until they downed them all.

Tarfful chuckled aloud, shaking with laughter at the site of the many faces that squirmed at the taste of alcohol.

Some trembled and shivered about while others shook their heads. Some made indescribable faces with a few coughing and hacking after drinking their sake.

Still, the feeling of camaraderie and brotherhood/sisterhood a few moments later… took a bit longer to be felt as they were still recovering from the sake.

Even Mendez couldn't help but be openly amused by their behavior.

_And just like that, we were all sworn brothers and sisters._

_It was strange at first but… we did feel it._

_We had always in our thoughts felt it after the first year of training but to have it so openly declared felt really liberating._

_We were now all officially family._

_And we were gonna look out for one another until the end._

_That much we all promised ourselves._

_End of Journal Entry._

**2519**

**February 3rd**

_Kashyyyk, Shadowlands_

The Shadowlands, also known as the Shadow Forest or the Nother World, is the dark ground level of the forests of the planet Kashyyyk. The land is dark since the sunlight could not reach it through the tall trees and the rich foliage.

The Shadowlands were a dangerous place, inhabited by savage beasts and floral, Wookiees visited only for ceremonial reasons, such as rites of passage. Famous Wookiees would often go there to prove themselves against the forest's strong, natural obstacles. It was also a place of exile.

That all changed when the Wookiee made first contact with humanity, humanity did extensive studies cataloging wildlife, floral, and the researchers was a retired Marine who noted that ancient Wookiee warriors would come to this place to test their worth and come out stronger. With that in mind, he believed that this location can be an ideal place to train humanity and its allies to their fullest potential.

Chief Officer Mendez stood at the front of the forest with Chieftain Tarfful by his side as the Spartan-II's were aligned before them.

"Trainees." Mendez spoke aloud, making the conscripts stand at attention. "Welcome to Kashyyyk. Home to our eternal brothers in the stars, the Wookiees."

Tarfful roared aloud with pride.

"This will be the next phase in your training." Mendez said in complete seriousness. "This…" Mendez gestured a handout to the forest behind him. "Is the Shadowlands. A fable area within Wookiee customs and culture. And as of recent, humanity and the Mon Cala as well. This is where the mettle of the best and most skilled that the UNSC has to offer is tested. A very select few are picked and even allowed to undergo training within this hellscape."

Mendez began pacing back and forth, eyeing each Spartan individually. They were tense and dare he say it depending on the look in their eyes, nervous.

Good. a fearless soldier is a stupid one.

When not molded or trained properly, fearless soldiers were a detriment to any unit and any army.

Bull headed and rushing right in with no wherewithal to care for him or herself nor their comrades.

These kids may have endured much and have gotten to a point in their training where they could be considered leagues above most.

But in the end, they were still kids.

And this forest has instilled the fear of God for most that have not survived its hellacious terrain.

"Tarfful and I have discussed much on what it is we should do." Mendez went on. "And we have come to an agreement."

Mendez pulled out a datapad and flicked it, holding it out horizontally.

A holo-image of a distinctly gargantuan tree was shown to them.

Tarfful growled out as to what it was and their objective. Get to the Origin Tree in the center of the Shadowlands.

"You have two weeks." Mendez stated. "Each of you will receive a map of the area and _all_ seventy-five of you will reach the center. Together. This isn't a team oriented competition. This is a unit training operation. All of you either succeed or none of you do."

Tarfful growled aloud and two Wookiees suddenly appeared from the trees nearby carrying large crates. They set it down and opened it to reveal multiple tools inside.

Lighters, knives, binoculars, rope, essential survival tools.

"Each of you is to select one tool from these crates and one only." Mendez instructed. "Make sure you select those which can be useful and prioritized for your weeklong mission. This terrain is deadly and dangerous with only the best entering for a reason."

The kids all lined up and one by one grabbed a tool that they would use for this training mission until all 75 had one.

"You will be separated into 15 groups of five and are all to reconvene and make your way to the Origin Tree." Mendez said. "Good luck, Spartans."

A convoy ship picked up the Spartan-II's and began dispersing them throughout the Shadowlands with Mendez and Tarfful watching on.

"You think they're ready for something like this?" Mendez asked quietly to his sworn brother.

Tarfful whined and moaned with a snort.

"Yes, but two years isn't two hundred." Mendez countered. "They're not like you."

Tarfful let out a guttural huff with a gleam in his eyes.

"Well I hope they survive then." Mendez remarked. "Afterwards, we'll see if they'll be better than you."

Over with some of the Spartans, the first batch was dropped off.

Kurt-051 with Will-043, Linda-058, Riz-028 and Adrianna-111.

"Alright you guys, let's have a look at what we all got." Kurt said straight away with the other four pulling out the tools they had taken with them.

Kurt had out a small booklet, Will a bowie knife, Linda some elastic looking rope, Riz a lighter and Adrianna some binoculars.

"Alright, alright." 051 said aloud, rubbing his chin as he looked over everyone's items. "This will make do for now until we get more when we re-group with everyone else."

"What's the book for, Kurt?" Will asked. "Crossword puzzles?"

"I could go for some." Kurt said with an amused chuckle. "No, this is a small little guide to all the flora that can be found here. Poisonous, edible, useful, everything that can be used in our benefit for our time here."

"Whoa." Riz said with a grin. "Nice choice, Kurt."

Kurt only grinned bashfully. "Since we're on the ground now, let's get moving to find the others. Adrianna, think you can scale this tree here and give us an idea where we are?"

"Can I?" Spartan-111 said with a challenging look, running up to the tree and beginning to climb it with ease.

"And don't wander off." Kurt said aloud. "This isn't the place for what you and Jai usually do."

"I'm not that stupid, Kurt."

"I know, just checking."

Elsewhere, another group of Spartans had been dropped off with them gauging their environment.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Sam-034 said aloud.

"We're in the shadowlands, Sam." 034's best friend said, nudging his side. "You're supposed to feel like that."

"Where do you figure the others are?" Jorge-052 asked softly.

"They're scattered." John stated. "So we'll need to find a way to reconvene with everybody."

Fhajad-084 hummed aloud in thought, pulling out his map of the Shadowlands. "If I were to have a hunch for a good rendezvous point that everyone would agree on…" He gazed over the map for a moment. "I'd wager it to be near the start of the Forest Trench."

"That seems like the most optimal place." Cal-141 said in her soft tone.

"Let's do an equipment check before heading out." John ordered with the team doing just that.

Throughout the Shadowlands, the 15 teams of Spartan-II's went over what each one had individually selected and plans were made.

They all began their trek through the dense swampy forest, trying to stay out of the boggy marshes.

With John's team.

"Think they'd hear me if I call out to them?" Sam asked his friend, making John snort.

"What? With your god awful owl?"

"Hey, I figure I'm getting pretty good at it." Sam defended jokingly.

"If good stands for an Owl choking on a rat then mine must be perfect." Fhajad shot back.

"You guys are no fun." Sam grumbled though he smirked all the same.

"Pretty sure the Shadowlands isn't the ideal place for fun." Cal stated.

"It's seriously lacki-"

The group was suddenly shoved out of the way by Fhajad with something much bigger sailing over them.

They all quickly scrambled to their feet upon seeing what it was that attacked him.

A particularly large spider.

"What is that?" Cal asked in slight alarm.

"A local." Fhajad said.

"Scatter." John ordered with the five running about in different directions just as the spider creature launched a web at them.

John had grabbed a stick whilst Jorge stood behind Sam who had brass knuckles.

Fhajad had a stick as well as he chose thick rope as his tool with Cal having to stay back as she had a medpack on her.

"Disorient it." John instructed. "If we can take out its legs and eyes we can kill it."

The spider-creature hissed out, snapping as it reared itself up and charged forward at John.

"Crap." Sam growled out, running towards his friend who had jumped out of the way.

The Spider missed, looking around in time to get one of its eyes punched out by 034.

Sam was nearly punctured by one of its spiny legs as Jorge had made sure to stay close to Sam and pulled him away in time.

The Spider was growling, looking about wildly as if trying to decide on which of the kids should it kill first.

The five were all tense as the sider once again prepared itself to charge at them when it paused at feeling several large rocks bounce off its head.

Looking up, the Spider seemingly froze as a particularly large log of wood fell from above and crushed it to death.

Bewildered by these fortunate set of circumstances, the five looked up to see a few figures far above in a tree all waving down at them.

Squinting his eyes slightly, Sam grinned a moment later upon seeing who it was.

"Kelly." Sam declared aloud with relief. "I think I see Vinh and Ralph up there too."

A moment later, a long piece of rope was tossed down though it didn't reach them entirely.

"Help me up there guys." 084 said, holding up his piece of rope. "Figure I can connect it and we can get up there."

After a half hour, John's group had climbed up to where Kelly was waiting for them with nine more of their brethren.

"Glad to see you're all alright." Kelly said, patting John and Sam on their shoulders doing the same with Cal, Fhajad and Jorge. "I was terrified when you were fighting that spider down there."

With Kelly was Vinh-030, Ralph-103, Joshua-029, Anton-044, Kirk-018, Mike-120, Nicole-121, Joseph-122 and Solomon-069.

"What was that thing anyway?" Sam asked, looking to the others. "Anybody know?"

He got negatives as a response.

"So I guess that makes fifteen of us now." Joseph said aloud.

"A fifth of our group entirely." Fhajad pointed out.

The enlarged group had hoped they could find their comrades sooner than later.

And speaking of comrades.

Off in another corner of the area just a few miles away from them was a group of ten Spartan-II's.

Among them was Jerome-092 who was leading Alice-130, Jai-006, Joyner-118, Carris-137, Randall-037, Cassandra-075, Rene-081, Victor-101 and August-099.

"You've been reading that manual for a while now, Randall." Jerome said aloud, the group traversing through what was now identified as the Forest Trench. "Anything useful on it we could use?"

"Mostly for the wildlife." Randall said, turning the page. "Some really freaky creatures they got running around in here."

"Any in particular we should look out for?" Joyner asked.

"Got a few." Randall said. "Flame Beetles, Slyyygs, Mykal. Though I'm partial we try to avoid these spider like one's called the Wyyyschokk."

"What's so bad about them?" Jerome asked with 037 elaborating on them.

Wyyyschokks are both highly intelligent and extremely hostile. They could ensnare prey by casting webbing at them from a distance and would often wait to ambush their prey by attacking them from above or below. A notable subspecies is Albino Wyyyschokk, faster and more aggressive than normal Wyyyschokks, these massive spiders were found in dark, subterranean areas where they could live for centuries. The species was capable of spitting venom, which it used to disable its prey before feeding on their brains.

"They sound like fun." Jai-006 remarked.

"Coming from you Jai, I'd believe it." August stated.

"Any of those you think we could eat?" Alice inquired, making a few jolt.

"Why in god's name would we eat any of these things?" Cassandra asked with an incredulous look.

"Actually…" Randall brought up his guide again. "According to this right here, the Mykal are considered delicacies among the Wookiees."

Upon showing what it was, Randall got varied faces.

"The Wookiees eat that thing?" Cassandra said in slight discomfort.

"Wookiees can eat anything." Victor said. "You've seen how Chieftain Tarfful can get when he's hungry."

"Well if they can eat that, figure we can too if we're lucky enough to take one down." 137 stated.

Jerome only gazed at the picture in thought when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was Jai looking ahead with his eyes squinted before a grin began to form upon his face.

"I found Adrianna." Jai declared aloud.

"How'd you go and do that?" Jerome asked in slight surprise.

Jai only gave him a coy grin. "We have our ways."

_-2 days later-_

The first 48 hours were a mixture of strenuous trial and tribulation. It had taken 12 hours in total for the scattered Spartans to finally link up entirely.

And then another 36 hours just to find a place secure enough for them all to get some proper rest.

If they assumed that dealing with the wildlife would have been their primary adversary in this jungle, all suffered a rude awakening via the various plant life found in the Shadowlands.

Jaw Plant, Lung plant, Orga, and Saavas just to name a few of the deadly foliage found scattered throughout the jungle swamp.

They were lethal and dangerous each within their own right, nearly killing several of the Spartans had it not been for the others ready to rush right in to save their brother or sister.

It was a stressful two days.

But thankfully, they were all getting some much needed rest.

Well… most of them.

Atop a platform elevated from the ground that overlooked the small encampment they were using as the resting area, the growing leaders of the Spartan-II program all sat around a smaller fire then the one down with the others.

John, Jerome, Kurt, Fred, Daniel, Leon, Margaret and Jai sat around the fire as they went over what they should do for this training op.

They were currently eating some freshly picked Mushblooms that they found around the area they set up camp for.

Thanks to Kurt's guide of the flora in the Shadowlands, they were able to deduce what was edible in this forest.

"We're here." Daniel said, pointing to the center of the Forest Trench. "If we wanna get to the Origin Tree we first need to get to its lake."

"What's the distance we're looking at?" Leon asked, kneeling next to 116.

"From where we are right now… I'd say about a dozen or so Clicks. Maybe more." Daniel answered.

"That doesn't seem too bad." Jerome remarked, rubbing his chin. "If we don't run into anything on the way."

"Which we definitely will." Kurt stated with a grim tone.

"So what's our play?" Margaret asked, eyeing the rest of the team leaders.

"We'll need to stock up on what we can with everything around us." Fred said. "I figure we can fashion some spears and if we concentrate on it, maybe a few bow and arrow sets as well."

"You sure we could pull something off that complicated in a short amount of time?" John asked.

"I'm not." Fred admitted. "But we need preparations at least. Tarfful showed us how to craft weapons and this is our chance to give it a try."

"We'll have to try it regardless." Jai said, speaking for the first time since this little meeting was gathered. "I'll take Adrianna and Mike with me tomorrow and any volunteers to scout out and grab whatever we could find that could be useful to us."

"What can we find out there that we could use?" Daniel asked.

"We got pointy sticks now." Jerome said, holding up his own spear. "Figure we could get some more."

Leon gazed upon the team leaders, stopping on one in particular. "You alright Kurt?"

"Hmmm?" Kurt blinked out of an intense gaze. "Oh, sorry about that."

"What's up, Kurt?" 011 asked.

"Nothing, I just… had a weird feeling about this place is all." Kurt said with a hum.

"What like… that "funny" feeling you had last week in training?" Margaret asked with Kurt tilting his head from side to side.

"Something like that, yeah." Kurt said.

"Is it a good one or a bad one?" John asked.

Kurt didn't answer at first, looking up at the sky. "Guess we'll have to find out."

_-8 days later-_

"MOVE, MOVE." John yelled aloud, the entirety of the 75 Spartan-II's running as fast their legs could carry them.

Pursuing them was a swarm of Wyyyschokks, being led by an albino one that was ahead of the large group of spiders.

The Spartans were all ragged, dirty, cut up and exhausted.

They had been enduring the trials of the Shadowlands for 13 days now and they were now on their 14th day. The last day of the two week goal that Mendez and Tarfful had set for them.

The Origin tree was straight ahead. They just had to climb the damn thing.

As they drew closer to the roots of the tree, Sam-034 spotted a familiar sight to them up to this point.

"Jumper plants, straight ahead." Sam said aloud.

"They're called Lung Plants, Sam, get them right." Kelly said, rushing past him.

"Come on, they're gaining on us." 028 said, running towards the Lung Plants with the others.

"Form up a perimeter." Jerome ordered, those who reached several of the Lung plants making a barrier while the rest catching up were sent ahead to use them.

As the Spartan-II's began using the long plants to jump ahead to higher parts of the tree to get away from the Wyyyschokks, the ones that remained used spears, bows and arrows along with other makeshift weapons in holding back the spiders.

Some had large pieces of bark from the giant trees, managing to carve them into shields of sort as they used them to bash the spiders back while the ones behind them stabbed at their eyes with their crafter spears.

In essence, those defending in the perimeter were utilizing a shield wall to hold back the spiders like many warriors of old from Earth's ancient history.

"Guys." Sam said aloud. "We can't hold them like this for long."

"We have to." Kurt declared. "Otherwise, they'll just chase after us up the-"

_***BOO WOOOOOOOOO*** _

Suddenly, from above, a giant shadow appeared which caused many of the Wyyyschokks to panic.

A moment later, a gargantuan avian creature landed before the Spartan-II's and promptly snared up several of the spiders with the rest beginning to flee.

"What the hell is that?!" One of the Spartans cried out in complete shock.

"It can't be." Kurt muttered. "They're supposed to be a myth."

"We can talk about it as sure as we're safe." Jerome said, the Spartans all scrambling to safety.

They were all soon resting within an opening platform. All were either laying down, leaning on or seated as they tried catching their breath.

"Ok…." One of the Spartans was on the ground. "Now… can anyone… explain to me…. What that giant bird was supposed to be."

Nobody responded at first though several looked to Kurt who had the animal guide that Randall had taken in his hand.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw it, but there's no doubt about it." Kurt opened it to a particular page. It displayed the large avian creature that had unexpectedly saved them moments ago. "Shyyo Bird. They are perceived as protectors of Kashyyyk's native Wookiees and Wroshyr trees. Sightings of the bird were known as being a guarantee of peace for the viewer."

"So does us being alive count as peace?" Fred remarked with a dry tone.

"Well, we _are_ breathing." Sam added. "So does that count?"

"Why'd that bird even save us?" 093 asked.

"It eats those spiders." 037 stated. "And we had an entire buffet follow after us."

"I think..." Maria-062 spoke up. "That we should just be happy we got such a lucky save. Let's finish this mission."

With no one offering any counter arguments, the 75 Spartan-II's shakily rose back to their feet and pressed on.

The sun was setting by the time they had reached their marked destination.

It was a Wookiee made platform where Chieftain Tarfful with Chief Mendez awaited their arrival.

Both could hardly suppress the looks of pride upon seeing the entirety of their trainees arrive on the last day just in time before Kashyyyk's sunset.

They were soon well rested, fed and were clothed in proper clothing once more and were now within a ship that would take them back to Reach.

"Spartans." Mendez said aloud, walking in front of them with his arms folded behind his back. "I must say that you have all performed in an exemplary manner these past two weeks. You have survived one of the harshest known environments in the entire galaxy with ingenuity, tenacity, unwavering determination and conviction to see it through to the end."

Tarfful let out a few barks, roars and growls of open pride as he regaled them with the tales of the fabled Wookiees that had survived the Shadowlands as well as the recent string of extremely skilled humans and even rarer selection of Mon Cala.

"You have done beyond what we had expected and then some." Mendez said. "Your first outing into the Shadowlands was successfully accomplished with flying colors."

"Sir, permission to speak freely sir." Jerome spoke up.

"Go ahead Red Leader."

"First Outing, Sir?"

Mendez and Tarfful exchanged knowing looks with the latter huffing in amusement.

"That's right, Red Leader." Mendez stated. "First outing."

Behind their two commanding officers, a display appeared of the map of the terrain that they were given. The map then began to zoom out to show a much larger forest and chunk of land that was under the label of the Shadowlands.

"You didn't think that was there is to the Shadowlands, did you?" Mendez asked with a gleam in his eyes. "What you all did was beyond impressive for individuals your age. But that was only one portion of it. The easiest one for that matter."

There was an audible sound of several of the Spartans gulping at the prospect of taking on the rest of the Shadowlands when the part they had apparently survived was crazy enough as is.

"We will all return here one day." Mendez declared. "But that will not be for a long time. Until then, we have many more years of training ahead of us to prepare you all for that day. When that day comes, each of you will conquer the Shadowlands as fully fledged Spartan-IIs."

A feeling of fierce determination was felt from the Spartans with Tarfful nodding in approval.

For now, they had completed the most dangerous training regime up to date as of right now.

They could take great pride in the fact that they could now be considered among the best of the best, even if it was only one portion of the Shadowlands.

Next time, they'd conquer it all.

_Kurt-051 Journal entry 23_

_I figure if there was any time to have one, it should be for what me and my brothers and sisters managed to accomplish in this past training mission._

_The Shadowlands was a place we had heard about and it was mentioned several times during our lessons._

_But to actually enter the place and survive?_

_It's not much, and honestly, I don't want it to be._

_But I'm proud of what we were able to do these last two weeks._

_With this, we can overcome anything._

_I know it._

_End of Journal Entry_

_Linda-058 Journal Entry 34_

_Training went on as per usual._

_It's been two years officially yet feels far longer than that._

_The days feel random at times._

_Some feel like a blur while others appear to stretch on._

_We don't really mind it._

_We have each other._

_Gray Team has been getting separate training however due to their behavior. I'm not surprised with how many times they've attempted to escape by this point._

_At first I thought that they really wished to get out of this program but recently, Sam and Kurt told some of us that they do it for the thrill._

_Thrill seeking Gray team, the… outliers if you could call them that of the program._

_Other than that, we've moved on now to emphasizing our specialties._

_It feels natural holding a Sniper Rifle. Like a missing limb I never knew I wanted…_

_I think I'll go practice again._

_End of Journal Entry._

_Anton-044 Journal entry 16_

_I don't do a lot of these that often but I feel like for this one, it's worth it._

_We just got back from what was basically our vacation._

_After being dropped off on the colony world of Emerald Cove, we stole Mendez's air tanks to survive and found an island where we spent a week making bonfires, baking clams and other sea life and even surfing._

_It was… really great to actually relax._

_We didn't realize how much we needed it but…_

_Maybe after another few years we can come back again._

_That island is ours now._

_We marked it with our numbers and team emblems._

_If we ever don't, least we still had a grand time._

_End of Journal entry._

_Catherine Halsey, Program Journal entry #47_

_They are coming along as expected._

_Feels like that's how I open every one of these reports but in all honesty, it feels natural._

_I was not expecting the Shadowlands however._

_When Mendez and Tarfful informed me of their next training mission, they hardly gave me room to question them._

_They simply packed the necessary equipment and left Reach the next day._

_This certainly wasn't in my program but… after seeing just how well they had improvised and survived the Shadowlands, I couldn't begin to express my pride in just how far they had come._

_And I knew they were only going to get better from here._

_Hearing that they had actually gone on a vacation to Emerald Cove was also another more amusing surprise if anything._

_No disciplinary charges were needed._

_They had earned that much after their ordeal on Kashyyyk._

_End of journal entry._

_Mendez Mission Report # 32_

_The Spartan-II's are truly beginning to live up to their namesake._

_Their performances in the last few tests were exactly the boost they needed in stepping up their capabilities._

_The Shadowlands have proven that not only can they reach the limits has been set for them, they can surpass them._

_Surviving for two weeks and creating the tools necessary for survival shows that even with hundreds of years of technological advancements, the ingenuity and instinctual need for survival is strong and present in these Spartans._

_These will wind up being the finest soldiers the UNSC will ever see._

_There is also the matter of Emerald Cove._

_It is difficult not to get a laugh out of the thought that they would go so far as to steal my own air tanks to survive my sabotage._

_Then to go and get some free time for themselves._

_Tarfful couldn't stop laughing upon finding out what they had done._

_Hell, even I couldn't hold down a smile._

_They even went out of their way to get the Chieftains favorite meat and my favorite brand of cigars, Sweet Williams._

_Guess they earned that reprieve in more ways than one._

_End of Mission report._

_Tarfful Mission Report._

_The pups grow stronger with each passing day, week, month and year._

_Each one has grown into their roles, picking up on what we have taught them and begun showing their fields of specialty more openly._

_It is good to see that while they are united under the banner of Spartan, they are all still capable of displaying their own individuality._

_When I was called upon for this program, I was hesitant and unsure._

_But after seeing what we have with these pups, I believe the future of the UNSC is secure with them. Our brothers and sisters among the stars and allies of the Mon Cala will one day look back on these Spartans as the greatest heroes this galaxy had ever seen._

_End of Mission Report._

**2520**

**UNSC Colony world Biko.**

**August 2nd.**

**Biko Colonial Hospital.**

Within a spacious room rested a single woman within a hospital bed. Her hair was jet black with hazel eyes and skin like porcelain. In her arms rested a newborn baby, sleeping peacefully.

The woman holding the baby was silent, a serene smile on her face as she gently rocked her newborn daughter in her arms.

She was humming quietly, making sure not to wake her child.

A moment later, her ears picked up on a soft knock at the door.

Looking up, she saw her door open with another woman walking in with a man. They were carrying a few small bags with some balloons.

Well… mostly the man.

The woman was carrying something much heavier on her.

"Janet." The resting newly-minted mother said in a soft voice. "How are you?"

"My feet are killing me." Janet whined, resting her hand over her baby bump. "I just want our baby boy to be out already. You should know how annoying that is, Wanda."

Wanda only smiled knowingly, turning to Janet's husband.

"How's she been treating you, Reggie?" Wanda inquired.

Reggie only shrugged, walking over to set down the gifts and balloons next to Wanda's bed.

"Well, she throws up often and complains about back pain every other day of the week." Reggie listed off. "Other than that, she's great."

Wanda only chortled until she heard a soft whimper.

Quickly looking down, she saw that her daughter had awoken with her bright silver blue eyes staring up at her.

"Hello little one." Wanda said lovingly. "I have a few new friends I would like for you to meet."

Both Reggie and Janet stood to Wanda's side as she displayed her newborn daughter to them, the latter of which cooed in adoration.

"Oh, she's so precious." Janet gushed. "What's her name?"

"Miranda." Wanda answered. "Miranda Lawson."

"She's beautiful." Reggie said kindly. "July 30th right?"

"Yes, three days ago." Wanda said, carefully holding her daughter out to Janet. "Would you like some practice?"

"Yes please." Janet said, with as much tenderness and cautiousness as she could as she took Miranda into her own hands.

The baby girl stared up at Janet with open curiosity, making a few noises of confusion.

"Hi there." Janet said with a beaming smile. "I'm Janet, your new auntie. You and I are gonna get along wonderfully. Say hello to your Uncle Reggie."

Janet then passed Miranda over to her husband with the man taking the little bundle in his hands.

"Hey Miranda." Reggie greeted with a kind tone. "It's a pleasure to meet my new little niece. Hope you get along with our own soon to be new arrival."

Reggie crouched lower to his wife's stomach, holding out Miranda towards it.

"You'll be meeting your new friend pretty soon yourself." Reggie stated with a wide grin.

"I'm glad that Miranda won't be alone." Wanda said with a relieved expression. "Have you decided on a name for him?"

"Yup, Carter." Janet said, resting her hand against her stomach.

"Doctors told us we should be expecting him later this month." Reggie said, handing Miranda back to her mother. "They're saying by their estimates to be around either the 26th or 27th of August."

"Where's Henry?" Janet abruptly asked. "Has he been here yet?"

"We had a conversation the other day." Wanda said offhandedly. "He's off world for the most part right now."

"Couldn't he make it back for the birth of his daughter?" Reggie asked with a disapproving look.

"Reggie, you know how busy of a man Henry is." Wanda pointed out.

"Yeah, but having a family is just as important a job as the one he has." Reggie countered with his arms crossed to display he wouldn't budge on this matter.

"Reggie." Janet scoffed at him. "Now isn't the time for it. Just be happy Wanda finally had her daughter and be glad for it. You've got a niece to take care of now."

"You know she's not really our niece, right Janet?" Reggie countered though there was no denying him being happy all the same.

"Oh hush, Reggie." Janet said, seating herself in an empty chair beside Wanda's bed.

_Later this very same year, many individuals were born that would one day play a role in the coming conflicts to come during this century._

_Future Spartans and other key individuals who would change the foundation and future of the galaxy itself._

_All the while, the training of the first class of Spartan-II's continued on with the trainees becoming stranger, smarter and faster as the months went on._

_Insurrectionist activities increased with the advent of full-blown civil war drawing closer and closer._

_In preparation for the future phases of the Spartan-II program, Taun We began her work ahead of time with her contacting her team on Kamino to begin the next steps as they had discussed with Halsey years prior._

_While life went on for the UNSC, other civilizations and empires were having their own conflicts and problems that would one day collide with the rest of the galaxy as a whole._

_For now, those were years away, close as it may be._

**Whew, alright, this was a marathon sprint but damn happy that it was done so quickly.**

**There was so much more that could have been done in this chapter but I figured we can save that for another date and time.**

**Not much that I could think of to say really other than what to expect next time.**

**The part of this crossover I bet some of you have been wondering about and what Bullet and I will address next time.**

**BSX: Were finally diving into the Mass Effect species perspective and timeline of events. What SW species have joined the Citadel will very much surprise you.**

**Yeah, we got some real special surprises in store for you guys.**

**BSX: Two things I like to address, one is questions about UNSC Fleet composition and numbers, all will be revealed in due time and the roles they'll play. Second is the Shadowlands route if you haven't noticed it is from Jedi Fallen Order for those who are wondering. As for lightsabers making appearance, that's a no unfortunately, sorry for those who wanted it but like I said the Jedi and Sith won't make appearances and Kyber crystals don't exist in the story.**

**So other than that folks, we'll see you next time.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	4. There's More Than One

**Alright you guys, hope you're ready for this one.**

**Cause I am confident that not many have tried this before nor thought of it. See, when BSX and I were developing this crossover we had to think really long and hard on how to distinguish this from others. We knew this couldn't be a simple one so there was experimentation and ideas thrown around until we began to formulate what is to come.**

**And I can tell you this, without a doubt, I think this one will be special. I whole-heartedly believe that. The last few stories that I've been writing with BulletStormX and Jebest4781 have been some of the best chapters and work I've made.**

**Working with them both has allowed me to publish newer stories, explore ideas I've been wanting to try out as well as churn out chapters repeatedly. I think in total with everything I've written combined with Jeb and BSX I've gotten out… like 70+ chapters from multiple stories.**

**It feels really damn good to have two comrades that I've been able to work with and we've gotten so much done in such a short amount of time this year.**

**So other than this mushy crap about me being really thankful for the friends I have on this site, let's get on with the show.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 4: There's more than one

_Journal Entry X_

_Sometimes, we tended to forget just how small we were in the grand scheme of things._

_While we were just getting ourselves out of our caves, some had already reached the stars._

_While we continued wallowing away in self internalized war, Faster Than Light travel was discovered by a few._

_When we were just industrializing, Empires that had been forged centuries prior were enjoying a Millennia of prosperity even with the conflicts that they had faced._

_When we had met our allies in the stars, the other players were set._

_We just didn't know it yet._

_It is astonishing when we look back on just how little we had colonized in retrospect. Many were astonished by our number of worlds though we ourselves were equally as fascinated as them as they were of us. Different reasons naturally yet…_

_To think of how more connected we were then we had first presumed._

_Meeting them among the stars was an eye opener and one of the first steps to our future by looking to the past._

_Oh… it appears I've rambled off once more._

_End of Journal Entry._

**Formation of Councils and Empires**

**Legends**

**BCE - Before Current Era**

**FCE - Formative Council Era**

On the other side of the Galaxy, in a world rich with an element that releases Dark Energy which in turn allows for unusual capabilities in terms of technology as well as personal capabilities that an entire species would develop. A special ability if one could call it that.

This special ability was named Biotics which allowed those with an aptitude for it to manipulate and create "Mass Effect Fields" from the element that releases this Dark energy.

As for a deeper explanation of what Biotics are, rather than the scientific term used, it is better to describe what it can do. Biotic individuals can knock enemies over from a distance, lift them into the air, generate gravitational vortices to tear obstacles or enemies apart, or create protective barriers along with a plethora of other capabilities that had been developed over time.

This species for the most part always had a natural aptitude for these Biotic capabilities.

Though the name of the species proper… has been lost to time.

They are all descendants of the same ancestor but as to who or what it was, they are finding it difficult to discover.

What they do know is that this ancestor is a bipedal individual. Two arms and legs with five fingers on their hands and feet.

Their overall body structure is the same yet…

Overtime, or perhaps from the beginning there have been four distinct variations of this species.

Their head pieces.

One possesses semi-flexible cartilage-based scalp-crests that look as though it is slicked back with a singular "tip" wherein all the "strips" meet. "Crest-Heads" was a nickname they had developed in between the four variant species.

Another has something that is referred to as Lekku, two or sometimes four protruding tentacles of sorts that would resemble tails from the head. They had a distinct variety of skin tones from dark blue to searing red and their nickname amongst the others were the "Tail-Heads".

Then there the ones that had Lekku of their own yet were distinctly different from the previously mentioned variant.

These "Lekku" were a part of large crown/horn-like projections from the top of their heads called montrals with patterns upon each of them. These horn-like protrusions upon their heads had also given them a unique passive ability of echolocation which allowed them to sense objects and movement that were in close proximity to one another.

The nickname this variant carried were the "Horn-Heads" or "Crown-Heads".

The last of these variants were the ones that were believed to have resembled the lost ancestor the most.

They, like the rest of their kind, were basically the same in a sense save for their "headpiece". The fur that they possessed or hair as it is called. Long and flowing or short and quaint with usually two shades. Red or blue.

"Fur-Heads" was their nickname.

Now, each of these four were unique and distinct enough for them to be considered their own species yet they were all categorically under the same branch. Much of their genetic makeup was exactly the same, matching one another from 95.2 to 99.1 percent.

Most of their intellectuals round it up to a hundred.

Each child that is born can actually be any one of these four showing just how deeply intertwined they all were with one another. A "Crest-head" and a "Tail-Head" can have a child that comes from either of the two's variations or one of the other two being a "Horn-Head" or "Fur-Head".

Yet there are two specific unifying aspects that categorize all four of these variants under the umbrella of one species.

They are a race of one gender. A race of all females.

Since the name of their ancestor has been lost to time, they had given the four variants their own names of identification.

The Asari. The variant with the crest-shaped head where their skin tone is a variety that ranges from shades of blue to violet and at times teal complexion. They are the most in tune with Biotics as they are the ones who have the most natural born users of this unusual phenomena.

The Twi'leks. The "tail-heads" with a wide variation of skin pigmentation that covers practically every color on the spectrum from red, blue, yellow, green and so on. A unique trait among them is a sort of special communication they are able to perform among their variant to the other four that is special only to them.

The Togruta. The variant with the horn protrusions and passive echolocation, they have a more limited pigmentation then the Twi'lek but have far more than the Asari and the last of the variations…

The Zeltron. Their skin pigmentation is limited like the Asari, though in their terms it's between bright pink to a deep crimson. Their hair is usually blue or red yet some have an extremely rare case of brown. Out of the four, they are what could be described as rather tech savvy yet are also the most sensual. Of the four, they possess a special ability in producing Pheromones that accentuate and amplify their attraction to others with some using Biotics as a means of completely ensnaring the source of their desire completely to them. They are perhaps the most emotionally outgoing of the four.

Some have taken to calling themselves the TTAZ(Togruta, Twi'lek, Asari, Zeltron)(Pronounced Ta-ahz) race for short.

Yes, these four mono-gendered variants all stem from the same world known as Thessia.

They have a long history, as do most sentient species across the galaxy and were among the first within the Milky Way galaxy that achieved space-travel.

Much can be achieved within the life of one of these fine ladies as they all share the secondary uniting factor of their species.

Their incredibly long lifespans.

This entire race has the capability of living upwards of a thousand years, possibly even more.

Many of those that have reached the thousand year mark or are close to it are revered for their centuries of growth, knowledge accumulation and experience.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves for the time being.

Much can be discussed about them when the time comes.

For now, let us delve into the time of expansion and development in other parts of the galaxy.

Within another sector of the galaxy, an ancient race that had just gotten through their long drought of technological stagnation achieves space travel.

Elsewhere, a warrior-based society was expanding within their own territory and means of FTL with colonization of dozens of worlds.

This species that would eventually be given a more distinct name by another species thousands of years later on down the line.

But before then, they were simply called the Sangheili.

Physically imposing beings, they typically stand more than a foot taller than the average human. They are vaguely reptilian in overall appearance, with leathery skin, reverse-jointed legs and sharp claws and teeth. Their large hands have two fingers and two thumbs. Their most distinguishing trait is their jaw structure, which is made up of four separate mandibles attached to their face.

Honor bound warriors, they had lived a life similar to that of the chivalrous knight or ancient Samurai of human history.

They continued to govern themselves until coming into contact with another space-faring species.

This meeting is one of many that would fundamentally shape and change the galaxy in the coming Millenniums.

**938 BCE/582 FCE -** A species known as the San'Shyuum being led by "Reformist" within their kind arrive upon the frontier world of the Sangheili called Ulgethon. The San'Shyuum utilized technology that is considered holy to both species yet the Sangheili view their usage of the technology as blasphemous.

A collection of heads were sent to the reformist San-Shyuum with the message clear.

This event sparked the War of Beginnings.

**Between 938 BCE/521 FCE -** As war waged on between the San'Shyuum and Sangheili, the TTAZ species achieved FTL via strange devices known as the Mass Relays. Finding a strange colossal station, the Asari make contact with strange aliens known as the Keepers that maintain the structure now called the Citadel. They quickly establish a working government upon the Citadel.

**876 BCE/520 FCE -** The Asari make first contact with a new alien race known as the Salarians. The Salarians are a bipedal race of amphibians, with tall, elongated bodies well-suited for their high metabolism, and skeletons composed of more cartilage than those of the TTAZ race. Their heads are long and thin and have a pair of horns protruding from the top of their skulls. Skin varies in color, from bright reds and greens to the more common shades of blue or grey. Their blood is a greenish color.

Intelligent with fast talking speech and an equally fast metabolism, the Salarians soon establish diplomatic relations with the TTAZ race.

**856 BCE/500 FCE** \- The Citadel Council is formed. The Togruta/Twi'lek/Asari/Zeltron and Salarians together colonize the Citadel and establish it as a center of the galactic community, led by the Council. This year is also known as 0 GS, the beginning of the Galactic Standard (GS) timeline.

As a gesture of openness with their new all-female allies, the Salarian Union opens the records of the League of One. Under threat, the League responds by assassinating every member of the Union's inner cabinet; Special Tasks Group operatives then hunt down and eliminate the League.

**852 BCE/496 FCE(ME)** \- The Sangheili-San'Shyuum war comes to an end, and the Covenant is formed with the creation of the Writ of Union. The first Age of Reconciliation begins.

**851 BCE/495 FCE(ME)** \- Sangheili opposed to the Writ of Union rebel against the Covenant. Ussa 'Xellus, a Sangheili that led the opposition created the Ussan faction. He takes with him 400 Sangheili and settles upon a Shield World for sanctuary away from the Covenant.

**800 BCE/444 FCE(ME)** \- Upon the planet known as Duro, the native species named after the planet, the Duros have been space faring for a number of decades up to this point. They are a race of bipedal humanoids with smooth blue-green skin, red eyes, lipless mouths, long thin noseless faces and green blood.

Pilots and explorers, they had rapidly colonized their sector and after some time were hungry for more exploration.

They had uncovered a Dormant Mass Relay on the edge of their sector, sending them straight towards the doorstep of the Citadel.

The Duros Expansion meets the Citadel and establishes diplomatic relations.

**795 BCE/439 FCE(ME) -** The Duros Expansion joins the Citadel Council due to their expertise in navigating uncharted space and cache of Element Zero leading to economic and technological boon.

**789-784 BCE/433-428 FCE(ME)** \- Taming of the Lekgolo: the Lekgolo are discovered and incorporated into the Covenant.

**656-649 BCE/300-293 FCE(ME)** \- The Volus began exploring and colonizing the stars shortly after discovering FTL.

Sometime after around this year, first contact is made with the Volus. Eventually, the Citadel Council commissions the Volus to draw up the Unified Banking Act, which establishes a standard galactic currency known as the credit and links all galactic economies.

Elsewhere within another undiscovered sector in space, another race was undergoing their own set of conflicts.

This race is known as the Turians.

Typically standing over six feet tall, they have two long, proportionately thick fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand each tipped with talons and a set of mandibles around their mouths. The most distinguishing feature of Turians is their metallic carapace, which contains trace amounts of thulium. This is an evolved trait that acts as a defense against the greater levels of solar radiation that penetrate home world's weak magnetic field.

As the formative years of the Council were occurring, The Turian Unification War occurs. The increasingly isolated and xenophobic colonies on the frontiers of Turian space go to war with each other. After years of fighting, the Turian Hierarchy sweeps in and pacifies the remaining factions. Animosity between Turian colonies continues for decades.

All the while, The Council grants the Volus the honor of being the first non-Council species with an embassy at the Citadel, rather than a Council seat.

In between this time, first contact is made with a race called the Batarians. They are granted an embassy a century later.

A few years later, the TTAZ discovered the Elcor home system and helped the Elcor locate and activate their nearest mass relay. "Within one Elcor lifetime" they establish a regular trade route to the Citadel and are granted an embassy.

First contact is made with the hanar and another technologically oriented species called the Quarians.

Possessing an endoskeleton, lips, teeth, and two eyes with eyelids and tear ducts, they also have three thick fingers on both hands which include a thumb, an index finger, and a long finger, similar to the middle fingers for the TTAZ species as well as three toes on each foot. Their lower legs are bowed backwards significantly, compared to TTAZ. Aside from hands and legs, their general body shape and sexual dimorphism is similar to TTAZ though only on the female side. Male Quarians, however, appear to lack a third toe.

Both races are later granted embassies.

Within another sector, another race that has been space faring encounters the Turians.

They come from the planet Dorin and are called the Kel-Dor or Kel-Dorians led by their government called the Kel-Dor sages.

The Kel Dors were a tall race, typically of the same height as Turians though slightly shorter at times. Their skin ranged in pigmentation from peach to a crimson red. Most had dark, black eyes, although some were born with silver irises, a mark that was often seen as an affinity for Biotics.

The species had unique facial structures compared to most. Their noses were described as falling short of becoming a beak, with a gaping opening that descended to the mouth, a toothless chasm with drooping fleshy strands. In place of teeth, Kel Dor had an upper and lower hard-palate, visible only when they pulled their lips back. Framing their head were extrasensory organs which terminated in small black tusks.

Due to their home planet of Dorin having a unique atmosphere composed of helium and a gas unique to their world, the Kel Dors were forced to wear an antiox breath mask and protective goggles whenever in atmospheres of a different composition. This equipment protected them from carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen, which were fatal to a Kel Dor. The breathing mask also helped to amplify the Kel Dor's voice, as they were forced to shout to produce any sound when out of their native atmosphere.

At first, relationships were tentative and slightly difficult due to communication being hard to convey but upon learning that both species share many similarities in culture and government rooted in justice, duty and service to the community and one another overall, the Kel-Dor and Turians enter into a formal alliance lasting well into modern times.

**648 BCE/292 FCE(ME)** \- Janjur Qom is destroyed by a natural stellar collapse and High Charity becomes the surrogate homeworld of the San'Shyuum. The Dreadnought that was present at the time of the War of Beginnings is made into the centerpiece of the capital.

**Council Era - War and Rebellion (1 CE - 900 CE)**

**357 AD/1 CE** \- The Rachni Wars: The Rachni, a species of highly intelligent hive-minded insects, are discovered when a Citadel expedition opens a dormant mass relay leading to their star systems. The Rachni prove to be hostile and begin a war with the rest of the galaxy. Negotiation with the Rachni queens is impossible because they cannot be contacted in their underground nests on the toxic Rachni worlds.

**436 AD/80 CE** \- The Rachni Wars continue. The Salarians make first contact with and uplift the primitive species called the Krogan, manipulating them into acting as soldiers for the Citadel Council. The Krogan prove able to survive the harsh environments of the Rachni worlds and pursue the Rachni into their nests, systematically eradicating queens and eggs.

**656 AD/300 CE** \- The Rachni are declared extinct. In gratitude for their aid during the Rachni Wars, the Council rewards Krogan with a new homeworld. Free of the harsh environment of Tuchanka, the Krogan population explodes.

**656-1056 AD/300-700 CE -** The Krogan race begins to expand exponentially, colonizing many new worlds. Growing concerns about their expansion lead to the founding of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel. In the year **1049 AD/693 CE,** Beelo Gurji, a Salarian operative, was appointed as the first Spectre by the Citadel Council.

During this tumultuous time, the Covenant discovered a race of primitive savages known as the Vorcha and due to their unique biology and aggressive behavior are incorporated into the Covenant.

**1056 AD/700 CE** \- The Krogan Rebellions.

Krogan warlords leverage veterans of the Rachni Wars to annex territory from other races in Citadel space. Eventually the Council demands withdrawal from the Asari colony of Lusia, but the Krogan refuse. A preemptive strike is made on Krogan infrastructures by the Spectres. The Krogan Rebellions begin.

The Citadel Council makes first contact with the Turians and Kel-Dor around this time and persuades them to aid in the war. After the Krogan respond to the initial Turian/Kel-Dor offensive by devastating Turian colonies and an attack on the Kel-Dor homeworld with weapons of mass destruction, the Turians and Kel-Dor vow to stop the Krogan from ever becoming a threat again.

Sometime after the dual species join the galactic community, the Volus are accepted as a client race of the Turian Hierarchy with the Elcor falling under the Kel-Dor Sages.

Around this time, a Krogan by the name of Nakmor Drack is born.

**1066 AD/710 CE** \- Realizing that the Krogan will never give in as long as they can replenish their fighters, the Turians unleash a Salarian-engineered bio-weapon known as the genophage on the Krogan. The Krogan population starts its decline. Kel-Dor and Turian relations greatly strained due to the use of the Genophage with the former finding the action a serious breach in justice and duty as condemning a species to eventual genocide is no better then what they had inflicted upon them. Though tensions were raised, it was difficult to dispute at the time. Salarians discretely held a meeting with the two species revealing that the Genophage was not a sterility weapon just a birth rate monitor. They make the argument that this will not kill the Krogan outright but keep a manageable enough population where they won't be as large a threat as they were.

Both sides are pacified and overtime, relations between Kel-Dorians and Turians return to normal.

**1112 AD/ 756 CE** \- The Yanme'e and Geonosians are incorporated into the Covenant.

**1156 AD/800 CE** \- The Krogan Rebellions end, though scattered Krogan insurgent actions continue for decades. The Turians fill the military and peacekeeping niche left by the decimated Krogan.

The Kel-Dorians versed within the abilities of Biotics by this point have developed a multitude of esoteric and properly unique capabilities. Multiple academies are opened to those willing to learn, becoming disciples or the Kel-Dorian sages called them, Padawans underneath veteran Biotic users to expand their abilities with Biotics.

The Citadel Conventions are drawn up in the wake of the conflict.

**Council Era - Expansion (900 CE - 2157 CE)**

**1256 AD/900 CE** \- The Turians and Kel-Dorians are granted seats on the Citadel Council in recognition for their service in the Krogan Rebellions.

**1342 AD/1183 CE** \- The Kig-Yar are discovered and form an alliance with the Covenant.

**1552 AD/1196 CE** \- The San'Shyuum begin searching for lifespan augmentation methods.

**2111/1755 CE(ME)** \- An Asari Matrons' three daughters are diagnosed as Ardat-Yakshi. Two accept exile, but the third flees. This Asari by the name of Samara renounces the ways of the TTAZ Rangers, takes the oaths of the TTAZ Justicars and pursues her errant daughter for the next 430 years.

**2142/1786 CE** \- The Covenant incorporate the Unggoy into their society

**2238/1880 CE** \- An ambitious Asari by the name of Aria T'loak with an equally dangerous and well versed Biotic Red skinned Twi'lek simply named Talon arrives on Omega, a space station in the Terminus Systems regarded as the region's nominal capital. Aria is hired by the station's warlord as an enforcer and quickly becomes one of his most trusted lieutenants. Talon becomes the most renowned Assassin in the Council galaxy.

**2251/1895 CE** \- The Geth War

The Geth, machines created by the Quarians as a source of cheap labor, become self-aware. Fearing a Geth uprising, the Quarians begin dismantling them. The Geth revolt against their Quarian masters. In the resulting conflict-known to the Geth as the Morning War-the Geth systematically drove the Quarians from their own worlds. The surviving Quarians are reduced to living as spacefaring nomads aboard the Migrant Fleet. Contrary to expectations, the Geth do not venture outside the former Quarian systems into wider Citadel space, instead isolating themselves from the rest of the galaxy behind the Perseus Veil. As punishment for creating the Geth, the Citadel Council closes the Quarian embassy on the Citadel.

**2277/1921 CE** \- The Geth begin construction of a mega-structure designed to house and simultaneously run every Geth program in existence. Completion of the mega-structure, which would allow the Geth to maximize their collective processing capacity, is the long-term goal of Geth civilization.

**2336/1980 CE** \- The Drell made first contact with the Kel-Dor around this time. With their homeworld Rakhana severely depleted and no spaceflight capability, the Drell were poised for a massive population crash by 2025 CE. Agreeing to help, the Kel-Dor mount a large-scale rescue operation and evacuate the entire Drell population to their various colonies, over the following decades. The Rakhana eventually would perish and be considered lifeless.

Due to this action, the Drell swear everlasting debt towards the Kel-Dor with the species taking them under their wing. Much of Kel-Dorian society and culture is incorporated into their own way of life.

Many Drell Sages rise during this time.

Aria T'loak assumes control of Omega after defeating the space station's previous warlord in single combat. She mockingly bestows the title "Patriarch" on the broken Krogan, and uses him as a reminder to her enemies of her power. Talon is her right hand enforcer and secret lover.

**2370/2014 CE -** The Citadel Council discovers Batarian Slaving operations being conducted against multiple species across the Citadel space.

They are stripped of their embassy and banished from Council space.

Slaving raids begin to be openly conducted by the Batarians though they are mostly beaten back.

**2433/2077 CE** \- An Asari that would come to play a pivotal role in the coming 26th century and held in the same Generation as the "Greatest Generation" by the name of Liara T'Soni is born.

**2443/2087 CE -** A Togrutan and Twi'lek that would later be a part of the "Greatest Generation" were born around this time.

**2481/2125 CE** \- The Yahg, an intelligent pre-spaceflight race, are discovered on the planet Parnack. Ambassadors representing the Citadel Council arrive on the planet and attempt to open diplomatic contact. After the ambassadors are killed by the predatory Yahg, the Council ceases all contact with the Yahg and declares Parnack off-limits.

Not long after the Yahg are discovered, one Yahg is captured for the most influential individual in the realm of information known as the Shadow Broker, to study. With the Broker's assistance, the Yahg rapidly ascends within the Broker's organization as "Operative Kechlu". Eventually, the Broker becomes wary of "Operative Kechlu" and attempts to have him terminated, but the order is sent too late. The Yahg assumes the mantle of the Shadow Broker and directs the organization for the next sixty years.

**2492/2136 CE** \- The Jiralhanea are discovered and incorporated into the Covenant.

**2495/2139 CE** \- Saren Arterius is born.

**2499/2143 CE -** While on the fringes of a patrol, several Turian and Kel-Dorian ships encounter a set of pirates that attack their fleet. Knowing they are from the neighboring system of Terminus. Chasing them off, the fleet chooses to pursue and eventually follow this ragtag group of pirates to an asteroid field.

Engaging in a brief skirmish, one of the ships struck what appeared to be a frozen asteroid.

Only it wasn't any ordinary asteroid.

The ice around the asteroid began to come apart, seemingly "activating something" within the frozen rock.

Spots of light began emanating from this strange asteroid, evaporating the ice around the rock. The Turians and Kel-Dorians who saw this later described it as some sort of rocky growth, as if they were looking at a fleshy unidentifiable piece then a ship.

The strange object began rotating in the middle of the skirmish, rotating faster and faster with much of the fighting ceasing. After it gained enough speed, it began to spray thermal fire that melted through ship defenses with ease catching many off guard.

Those that remained were ordered to pursue at all cost.

Though it was difficult slightly to navigate through the lawless Terminus System, the frantic rate that the Turian/Kel-Dor fleet moved about put many off guard and unnerved leaving them alone entirely.

When getting to the edge of the galaxy, so to speak, all efforts in pursuing the unidentified ship were halted and abandoned.

The report ended with a Turian Captain stating, "Any ship that wants to commit suicide in that great void is not worth our trouble".

**2502/2146 CE-** Thane Krios is born

**2504/2147 CE -** In a joint collaborative effort in mapping out more of the galaxy, a team of top scientists led by Duros and Salarians were attempting to discover other sentient life via communication and radio waves.

Though unsuccessful for a majority of the project, one team reportedly made contact with an unknown frequency that seemed to stem from what the Council had dubbed Frontier/Wild Space.

Upon learning that this was true, many had attempted to get into proper contact with this unknown species. After several weeks of monitoring what appeared to be communication waves, it stopped, abruptly cut off.

Attempts were made at re-establishing contact or monitoring of this unusual radio/communication but all resulted in failure.

This was dubbed the lost contact mission.

Many within this team hope to one day in the future establish proper contact with this species in wild space.

**2508/2152 CE-** Thane Krios is submitted for training as an assassin.

**2510/2154 CE -** A Jiralhanea that would carve out a piece of the galaxy for himself by the name of Atriox is born.

**2511/2155 CE -** Saren Arterius is promoted to active service in the Turian military at the age of 16.

**2514/2158 CE(ME) -** A Turian that would one day come to play a pivotal role within the galaxy at large as well as one that would be a part of a group of individuals later dubbed the "Greatest Generation" by the name of Garrus Vakarian is born.

**2515/2159 CE -** Saren Arterius becomes the youngest Turian to be inducted into the Spectres.

**2521/2165 CE -** A Quarian by the name of Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya who would be a part of the "Greatest Generation" is born.

**2525/2169 CE**

A lone Asari stood at the front of a building within the Citadel with a slightly forlorn and sad expression.

She held a datapad in between her hands and she sat upon a bench with her head down.

She had been waiting here for some time by herself now and she was getting slightly anxious.

Many citizens passed her by, not giving her a look at all which she was rather pleased about. She wasn't all that good with crowds as of this moment.

She honestly would rather be in a cave right now, excavating the lost history of-

"Liara!" A loud, familiar voice exclaimed from the crowd.

Blinking, Liara T'soni looked up in time to see a Togruta with orange skin running towards her with a Twi'lek that had a shade of deep blue.

Smiling happily at the sight of the two, Liara got up in time as she was nearly tackled back down to the bench by the two who had jumped at her with flying hugs.

Straining slightly, Liara laughed lightly a moment later and embraced the two back in a warm hug.

"Ahsoka, Mission." Liara said kindly. "I've been waiting for you two."

"Sorry Liara." Mission Vao, the Twi'lek said straight away with a sheepish expression.

"Ahsoka and I got a bit nervous before coming here and got a little hungry as well."

The Asari chuckled lightly at the answer she got. "You both were nervous, so you chose to eat it away? What kind of response is that?"

"Our kind of response." Ahsoka Tano piped up with a puff of her chest and hands on her hips. "A good stomach is a full stomach to get you through the day."

"I thought it was an empty stomach is a hungry stomach to strive for more?" Mission said with her Togrutan giving her a flat look.

"That's what Master Secura told us when it comes to learning." Ahsoka reiterated.

"So are you two ready?" Liara asked anxiously.

Both girls gazed upon their Asari friend with hesitant expressions before nodding with confidence.

"It's time." Ahsoka said with a determined face. "My mother always told me the time would come and Aayla taught me much in the academy but it's here where I can learn the proper skills for Biotics to become a proper Ranger for our people. She recommended us to Sage Master Plo Koon! Can you believe it?"

"Plo Koon?" Liara asked in open astonishment. His name was known very well amongst many proficient Biotic users with him being one of the few to attain the distinction of mastering the extremely rare ability of Biotic lightning.

Mission Vao shook with excitement.

"It's gonna be amazing." She said, bouncing on the spot. "I can't wait to learn under him."

"Well I wish you both luck." Liara said with a slightly saddened smile, something her two dearest friends easily picked up on.

"Ah Liara." Ahsoka gave her an understanding look. "We're not gonna up and stop talking to ya. You're still our best friend, you know that right?"

"Yeah." Mission chipped in with a wide grin. "What would you do without us? Who else can pull you away from your caves when you need fun?"

Liara found herself chortling a moment later.

Though the three of them were maidens for the most part by their species standards, Liara was older than the two by ten years. It wasn't much when you consider their thousand year lifespans yet they looked up to Liara as if she were their older sister.

They had been together for nearly 50 years up to this point and now was the time for them to start branching out and getting out into the greater galaxy at large.

Mission and Ahsoka were always the more adventurous of the trio whilst Liara preferred her studies of ancient texts and societies.

But they had resolved themselves to always stay in touch with one another no matter how far apart they would get and always remain steadfast friends and sisters.

"Good luck you two, again." Liara said, going in for a tight hug. "I hope I hear all about your wild adventures and accomplishments all over the galaxy."

"And good luck to you, Liara." Ahsoka said, hugging her tightly with Mission.

"Yeah, we better see your name all over those science channels about the crazy discoveries you've made." Mission stated.

"Those are scientists, Vao. I'm an archeologist."

"They'll still probably throw you into the same channel." Mission countered and Liara was hard pressed not to disagree.

"You're probably right." Liara admitted, sharing a laugh with her friends.

After speaking with them over various topics and such, Ahsoka and Mission wave their friend goodbye as they face the academy of the Biotic Sages and entered the large building moments later.

Liara lingered there where they had said their goodbyes for a few moments until she herself departed.

While on her way to her destination, she brought up her datapad and turned on the screen which revealed to her the contents that would be the focus of her objective.

It was a group of young and up and coming intellectuals being recruited by elder explorers, scientists and archeologists that were gearing up for a long 3 decade excursion to begin the process of expanding their knowledge of the rest of the galaxy.

While much was found within their corner of this galaxy, a majority of this collection of stars, planets, dust and dark matter still had yet to be explored.

There was an entire frontier out there waiting to be discovered.

And she would be a part of the group that she firmly believed would discover new relays, new systems, new planets and above all else. New sentient life.

If only she knew… just how much of a wakeup call the Citadel would be facing in the years to come.

_The Stage is set._

_The coming decades of tumultuous changes and conflicts._

_The factions have been set._

_Humanity, Wookiees, Mon Calamari, and Kaminoans under the umbrella of the UNSC(United iNtergalactic Space Command)._

_The Citadel and all of its species. The TTAZ(Togruta, Twi'lek, Asari, Zeltron), Salarians, Turians, Kel-Dorians, Duros, Volus, Elcor, Hanar, Drell, and Keepers._

_The Empire that is thousands of years old up to this point, the Covenant. The San'Shyuum, Sangheili, Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Jiralhanea, Lekgolo/Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e, Geonosian, Huragok, and Vorcha._

_With the remaining outliers of the Quarians, Geth, Krogan, and Batarians._

_All of these different species._

_All of these different ways of life, culture, beliefs and government._

_All would eventually meet and clash._

_Though there were some years out in regard to certain organizations, their meetings are Inevitable._

**So, this one was a lot easier to be done simply because much of it was already pre-planned and made months in advance by myself and BulletStormX.**

**We had essentially written out a rough outline of our story overall that would get more comprehensive and detailed as the chapters came out and time went on.**

**It was difficult but it is paying off in dividends.**

**BSX: As I said before, making the timeline to where the Halo timeline correlates to the ME timeline took days to work out and compare notes to finally get what you see here.**

**FMW: So as you all saw, yes, the Twi'leks and Togruta are in the story though I bet none of you would have guessed that they were gonna be a part of the Asari species. I kind of correlated that to their unique head designs. The Zeltron were added as well due to their sensuality and skin pigmentation being similar to that of the Asari to a degree as well as them playing a slightly subtle important key role later on down the line. Like way later. Now you're probably wondering why we chose to have the Twi'leks, Togruta and Zeltron be all female. Well, when you think about it, who are some of the most** _**famous members** _ **of these species? Come on, take a moment. Yeah, exactly, mostly females.**

**BSX: The Kel-Dor and Duros were the choices me and FMW narrowed down too for importance of what they contributed to the story such as the Kel Dor being the ones to uplift and save the Drell population from extinction. A lot more Drell are running around now. The Vorcha being integrated into the Covenant made sense to both of us since half of the Covenant are bloodthirsty savages(not all of them).**

**FMW: And as for the Geonosians, they may have been one of the last minute add ons before the start of this story but when you compare them to the Drones(Yanme'e) they were another obvious choice for the Covenant.**

**BSX: As you saw Mission Vao and Ahsoka along with previous timeline hints of SW characters, that means we're bringing all characters from different eras and time periods of Star Wars history. I mean ALL of THEM, both legends and canon characters will be making appearances here and there. As for who they are, you'll have to wait and see.**

**While you guys won't be getting all of the Star Wars characters you know and love, with the variety of species we've chosen you guys will be getting a huge swath of them in the coming chapters.**

**So thanks again everyone for reading this gargantuan undertaking.**

**We'll try to update as frequently as we can either once a month or once every two weeks depending on other stories and schedules.**

**This, like Spirit Unto Dawn has been greatly planned out and you guys will see a grand finale when the time comes.**

**Until then, stay tuned for more.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	5. Prelude

**Alright, loving the reviews and the excitement with all the factions being established.**

**There's a lot to cover, a lot to do.**

**Some reviews and questions BSX and I will address towards the end of the chapter in the closing AN.**

**There are those reviews who made it sound like ring announcers and that got a laugh out of me. Possibly Gigan and Shadowwolf, you guys are awesome.**

**Now then, let's get on with the show.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 5: Prelude

**2521/2165 CE**

**January 25th**

_Kamino_

_Su Des Facility._

Upon the endless watery world of Kamino, a lone facility stood far above the waters below.

It's appearance was dome-like, having multiple landing platforms and the numerous buildings either conjoined or connected via bridges.

The planet of storms lived up to its name as violent winds and crushing rain buffeted the lone structure yet it stood strong and unfazed against the raging storm.

The Kaminoans had long since adapted to their thundering and stormy home with their cities all built to withstand the endless rain and winds that were a constant on the planet.

While the outside was dark and turbulent, it was the exact opposite within the facility of Su Des.

Pristine, calm and clean halls were what was the norm of most of the facilities and even cities of the planet of Kamino.

Within the halls of this facility, a lone Kaminoan was walking in a slow stride though her long legs made it seem as though she was moving at a faster rate.

She was humming an unusual tune to herself, certainly out of character for the cold and more emotionless state her kind usually displays.

Taun We has become something of an oddball amongst her species though that is to be expected if one takes a moment to think about it.

For the past few years, nearing a decade now, Taun has spent a majority of her time off planet and in the presence of other sentient species.

Sentient species that display their emotions more openly and willingly, not like the Kaminoans.

She had been exposed, for lack of a better term to a broader perspective.

Whilst she had retained a great deal of her usual calm and collected self, Taun would be seldom pressed if she were to deny that she had changed in these last few years.

Especially now with what she has been selected to work on.

Striding towards a door at the end of the hallway, she stopped before it as it opened for her entry.

Stepping inside a darkened room, upon detecting her presence, lights began flickering on to reveal her laboratory.

The room was circular for the most part with a wholly unique design in a manner of speaking. There were black chalkboards that lined the walls save for the center that was adjacent to the door.

Multiple operating tables with various assortments of medical tools and chemicals.

One might assume this to be an emergency room given the overall look yet this room was being utilized for something far more… considerably amoral.

On the opposite wall that was adjacent to the door were a series of large tubes filled with a blue liquid with various pipes and contraptions connected to them. The interior was empty for the moment though not for long.

Going over to an elevated terminal that was in the center of the room, Taun placed her hand against the center with a light scanning her hand for a brief moment.

A chirp of identification confirmation made a large screen appear before the Kaminoan with a human woman waiting on the other end.

"Catherine." Taun said pleasantly.

"Taun." Catherine Halsey greeted with a friendly smile and nod. "Hope your trip back home wasn't too troublesome."

Taun shook her head. "Not at all. I am simply glad to be back here."

Halsey's expression fell slightly. "Yes. I wish it was at a later time though."

"We both knew we would have to start eventually." Taun said, walking over to several stations and activating functions and other systems. "This was only a matter of time. Better to do it now then withhold for a later date and time."

Halsey sighed in resignation on her end, body slumping slightly. She stayed that way for a few seconds until her expression became solemn and determined a moment later.

"Agreed." Halsey stated with conviction. "Have you received them yet?"

"They had arrived shortly before my arrival." Taun We answered, going over to the large tubes with a control panel next to them.

Inputting a series of commands, hissing steam and air came out from several of the pipes and bubbles formed from below within the tubes.

Several moments later, four bodies floated up within the tubes with them being completely still and unresponsive.

The four bodies were John-117, Kurt-051, Jerome-092 and Frederic-104.

Or they were imperfect copies of them.

These were flash-clones that were made a week ago by the UNSC, specifically created by Halsey and Taun.

They were the most advanced version of a Flash-clone, combining the expertise of the Kaminoans and ONI's best scientists to produce them.

Though as new a version as they were, there were still several key problems that persisted from the last generation.

Their cellular and internal makeup was incomplete.

On the outside, the four inside the tubes looked like exact copies of the Spartan-II's they were cloned after at the current age and stage they were in the program.

This was to be their next step in creating the perfect super-soldiers that Halsey had drawn up. Going off of what was attempted decades ago between the Kaminoans and humanity for the Orion project, Halsey believed that it wasn't ambitious or risky enough.

Years ago, when Halsey had first learned of the Kaminoans natural inclination towards genetic conditioning and manipulation she approached Taun We directly and showed her the plans she had.

It was different to say the least.

In the short amount of time that the Kaminoans had known the UNSC, they had found each species to be unique and strange in their own right.

The Mon Calamari were ones they could relate to, to a degree due to their aquatic capabilities and similarities in how their worlds are overall. There was of course a slight barrier due to the Calamari having a love of fine arts and culture as well as expressing individualism and creativity.

A trait that is shared by both the Wookiees and Humans as well.

Wookiees always held a wariness towards the long limbed species as they found their cold and aloof personas off putting.

Humanity was a rather mixed bag to say the least. They were all encompassing on many aspects from the perspective of the Kaminoans, finding them both intriguing and wary.

And from a species that was so emotional and rebellious to a great degree, Taun was certainly surprised that one would approach her species in doing something humans would find appalling.

Currently, Taun was about to undertake the next step in this "Appalling" program as she had the container holding the 092's flash-clone drain itself of the gelatinous fluid within. Several mechanical arms descended down from above and opened the tube, delicately lifting the body over to an operating table and setting him down.

Taun We loomed over the flash-clone with Halsey watching from her end with baited anticipation.

The Kaminoan geneticist looked over to her scientist human counterpart with Catherine sighing shakily, nodding in consent a moment later.

Looking back to the 092 clone, Taun's gaze lingered upon it for a brief moment before speaking up.

"Initiate procedure OCR-23." Taun said aloud.

Immediately, several compartments opened around the sides of the operation bed. Two mechanical joints tipped with drilling needles came out from the compartments.

Beside the bed was a heart rate monitor that also displayed the internal workings of the clone entirely.

Both were angled on either side of the clones temples with the needles beginning to spin rapidly. They drew in closer and closer to the 092 clone, Halsey holding her breath until the metal needles pierced the flesh.

They drilled into the temples of the clone with the copy not responding for several minutes.

Suddenly, without warning, the clone's eyes snapped open revealing them to be bloodshot red. 092's flash-clone yelled out in complete and utter agony, writhing in agony and pain even with the needles still embedded into his head.

Blood began seeping out of his eyes and after several more agonizing screams, the clone jolted and slumped upon the bed.

The sound of the heart flatlining was heard, the long whining sound that signified the death of the clone reverberating against the walls.

Halsey leaned back in her chair, trembling hand over her face to hide her pained and terrified expression.

Taun stared at the dead clone. "Subject 092-1 deemed unsuccessful in augmentation of Occipital Capillary reversal. Results. Death."

She turned to Halsey who still had her hand up and was now shaking all over.

"Catherine." Taun called to her gently. "We knew that the starting stages were going to result in immediate failure. It's what we do with the time that we have that will decide upon the fate of the true Spartan-II's when the time comes. We still have time to make this better."

Taun wasn't going to lie. She knew the procedures were more than likely going to be imperfect.

There are far, _far_ too many variables to consider when going into such an intrusive and dangerous procedure wherein one is basically rearranging how a body functions forcibly. The margin for error was quite present.

"I know, We, I know." Halsey said softly, rubbing her eyes for a moment before exhaling to steel herself. "Prepare the next clone for CCO-8-3."

The tube containing 051 was next.

_-Several days later-_

To say that the past few days were stress inducing would be an understatement for Halsey.

They had started the experimentation phase of the Spartan-II's program regarding augmentation and thus far were met with failure after failure.

She had expected this of course. Halsey knew that she was hoping for _far_ too much at this early stage.

Most of the children had turned ten or were turning ten this year and they had yet to hit puberty.

Both Taun and Halsey believed that the augmentations were best designed to be implemented sometime after the children began hitting their growth spurts.

If it was forced upon their bodies now at such a young age, the augmentations that would accelerate their growth in terms of muscles, nervous system, height, skeletal structure and so on would simply result in their bodies being torn apart from the inside out.

Not exactly the result Halsey would like and one that ONI would approve of.

That didn't discourage Taun and Halsey from trying to grasp these augmentations now.

Each one was highly dangerous in their own right as they had accounted for numerous aspects of these augmentations that would undoubtedly come into play.

When she had drawn up the Augmentation process for the SPARTAN-IIs, it was divided into two parts.

One was a more physical and highly intrusive set of surgical procedures and the other was an equally dangerous series of injection procedures.

From what Halsey and Taun were able to gather along with several other surgeons that were working on the process, the surgeries were highly risky, intensive, and required special medical talent. Their safety and effects varied substantially from subject to subject, with the benefits and risks varying with the surgeon, the surgical conditions, and the state of the patient.

Then came the Chemical augmentations.

They were to be applied by working on a molecular level, targeting molecules within the body and then altering them to begin a growth process of targeted tissues. Although the chemicals work on a molecular level, they do not work on a genetic level, as targeted mutagenesis is impossible using chemicals alone.

This proved especially challenging for one such as Taun as they were Genetic geniuses in terms of manipulating genes. However, going over the chemical augmentations and the means in which they were to be applied, Taun realized that even if they tailor made the chemicals to be based upon every single individual that would receive them, the results would still be unpredictable. The chemical augmentations primary risks were dependent upon the subject's genetic background and how they adjust to the alteration of cells and molecules and to a more physical point, tissue growth.

Taun suggested extensive Gene Therapy in the coming years to better prepare the Spartan-II's for their eventual Augmentation, something Halsey agreed on entirely.

She could only hope that the Spartans would be ready for something like this when the time came.

They were being drilled that so long as a situation was in their control, they were able to win at any given situation. If they can adapt, they can win.

This was something outside their control entirely.

The survival of their lives when the time comes would be completely in the hands of Halsey and Taun.

And she would not fail them.

**October 15th:** Halsey took the time to muse somewhat in her journal on the vulnerabilities created by the standardization of operating systems, highlighting the recent disabling of a patrolling destroyer by a terrorist who hacked its code. Given that the UNSC, conversely, had not had much success penetrating the homegrown collections of software employed in the Outer Colonies, she concluded that the time had come to think outside the box as far as programming practices were concerned. She had spared no resource in the development of routines that allowed the newly-operational third-generation A.I.s to penetrate any system software. Additionally, they had already learned to mutate and defend established UNSC operating systems from attack, a side effect of the routines which Halsey found serendipitous.

**2522/2166 CE**

**Earth**

**March 19th**

A lone man sat outside a room within a white hallway where there were other people going about their business, leaving the man to stew in his thoughts.

Or more like tremble with anticipation and fear.

Currently, he was in a hospital, one he damn near sprinted to upon receiving word of his wife's admission into one.

He was glad that his friend David was on leave at the time here on Earth or he may have found out at the last possible second all together. His wife would have killed him.

…

Alright, not kill him, but still he'd rather her not face this alone.

Until he was promptly shoved out of the labor room, forcing his wife to face it alone.

So here he sat within this hospital corridor, waiting and jittering about.

This was how he acted until…

"You know your leg is gonna snap clean off if you keep shaking it like that Gerald."

Blinking, Gerald looked up with his face breaking into a wide grin upon seeing who it was.

"Marcus." Gerald said with a boisterous tone, standing up out of his seat and walking over to embrace his friend in a hearty hug. "What're ya doing here? Vanessa?"

"Yeah, Vanessa." Marcus confirmed for him. "Just being checked up on. She should be expecting our kid within a month or so. How's Inna?"

Gerald slumped in a dramatic fashion.

"In there, right now."

Marcus laughs aloud, patting his friend upon his shoulder.

"Chin up, Gerald." Marcus said. "Give it another few minutes, and then you're a father."

"I just don't know why they won't let me in!" Gerald exclaimed in annoyance, completely ignoring the looks he was receiving from the other people and several Wookiees within the hallway. "God knows how many times a husband was present for their kids. But noooo~ for some dumbass reason, I can't be in there."

"Well if you're stressed out that much, I think you're on the right track to being a good father." Marcus assured.

"You think so?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The flat look he received from Gerald was enough for Marcus to laugh again.

"Oh yeah, Dad made sure to send these to me when he had the chance from Meridian." Marcus said, reaching behind his back and pulling out a set of cigars.

"Sweet Williams?" Gerald said in disbelief.

"The very best." Marcus remarked with a wide smirk. "Old pa had to pull a few strings but the name Williams has some major pull still."

Gerald chuckled as he took the Cigar graciously and pocketed it for later.

"Decided on a name yet?" He asked his friend and fellow Father-to-be.

"Yeah, Vanessa strong-armed me into Ashley." Marcus revealed.

"Ashely?" Gerald said aloud in thought. "Wait… is it cause you and her did it near-"

"Don't." Marcus Williams cut him off with a half-lidded stare. "Just… don't."

His friend had a mischievous grin appear upon his expression seeing his friends annoyance.

"Bet that meadow was mighty comfy beneath you."

Williams' face scrunched up before he found himself smiling.

"It was actually. I forget that when she lets loose, she can be a bit of a screamer."

"Don't remind me." Gerald said.

Marcus was about to make a witty comment when a Mon Cala doctor appeared.

"Mr. Gerald?" The Doctor said aloud with the man looking over to him.

"Yes?"

"This way please."

Tensing up, Gerald looked up to Marcus who only smiled encouragingly.

"First dibs on seeing your kids, Sheppy." Williams stated, clapping his friends shoulders. "Go on."

Gerald only nodded, following after the doctor and entering the labor room where he saw his wife holding two bundles in her hands.

She looked tired but positively radiant with the loving smile she held as she looked down at her two children.

Silently, he walked over to his wife and stood by her side placing a chaste kiss on her temple.

"Inna." He said lovingly. "They're beautiful."

"They are, aren't they?" She whispered reverently.

Gently, he placed a hand beneath the head of the closest babe at his side while looking over to the one opposite to him.

Chuckling softly and wiping away some tears out of the corner of his eyes, Gerald was positively beaming as he managed to sit down upon the bed with his wife and held his family close.

"Hey there kids." Gerald said quietly. "It's your dad saying hi to you both for the first time."

The babies shifted about with both slowly opening their eyes and gazed up at their parents.

"Welcome to the world, Michael and Michelle Shepard." Gerald declared.

Sometime later within the month of April, an individual named Kaidan Alenko was born on the 4th.

Ten days later on the 14th, Ashley Williams was born to Marcus and Vanessa Williams.

**December-** After multiple Flash Clones, Taun We and Catherine Halsey make some headway with their Augmentation pre-implementation.

The success rate for survival increases by 12% leaving a 53/47 chance of survival.

**2523/2167 CE**

**March 11th-** Emile-A239 is born.

**May 25th-** Scott and Sara Ryder are born to Alec and Ellen Ryder.

**June 8th-** Fifth batch of Flash Clones involving Augmentations deemed 61/39 chance of success rates.

**August 7th-** Jennifer "Jack" Tayler is born.

**October 25th-** Jacob Taylor is born.

Spartan-II's in their sixth year of training. Entering their own early stages of puberty which will be the most critical time for Taun We and Halsey to get the Augmentation processes down as best as they can.

During this time, the next batch of Flash-clones undergo the augmentations though the results had ended up the same as earlier in the year.

**2524/2168 CE**

**February 28th-** Jun-A266 is born. Second batch of Flash Cloned experimental Augmentation experience similar results with only a ten percent increase of survival rates likely.

**May 3rd-** James Vega is born.

Around the same time, Catherine Halsey was reunited with the newly promoted Captain Keyes within the University of Calippus.

They would later conceive a child.

**2525/2169 CE**

**January-31st -** On the world of Jericho VII, in the city of Damask, a boy who would be a part of the "Greatest Generation" with the future callsign of Noble Six is born.

**February 1st**

_Kashyyyk_

_Rryatt Trail Gates_

Seventy-Five Spartan-II's stood at the entrance that represented their final test.

After eight long years, it was time to see if all that training all the pain they had endured to get them to where they were right now paid off.

Accompanying them were their commanding officers and trainers, Franklin Mendez and Chieftain Tarfful. By their side was their "caretaker", so to speak, Taun We who had been unusually inconsistent whenever she was around for the past two years. The last two months especially as they had seen her a grand total of four times and even then, it was only for a brief few minutes.

Yet they had picked up on something unusual every time they saw Taun and whenever she was among them.

There was this look that she would give to each and every single one of them. This look of unyielding determination that they couldn't quite describe.

She was always soft spoken, kind and gently with how she was around them like their older sister.

These past few interactions had made some of the Spartans begin to slightly worry about Taun's behavior and had questioned on several occasions if she was alright.

Kurt, Jorge and surprisingly Sam had been the main three to ask her this question directly.

She had calmly brushed them off with a prolonged placement of her arms upon their shoulders with her displaying an extremely rare smile.

There were a record few times they had seen her smiling, something she did even less then Chief Mendez.

The only notable time she smiled that came to many of their minds was the incident with Carris-137 in 2520 involving her accidently killing one of their handlers.

137 was so devastated by what she had committed, it took her a while to get over the action with Taun managing to break through to her.

" _It shows that you have a good heart and will never lose your humanity."_

Those words resonated with Carris and being that most of the Spartan-II's were present for them, it had the same effect on them.

To think that a Kaminoan would be the one to say that to them truly struck a chord.

Now… they were still trying to deduce her sporadic appearances and strange gazes.

Margaret-053 of Black Team noted it may have to do with the prolonged absence of Halsey which many had agreed to.

Aside from Taun We's extremely rare appearances, Halsey was hardly as present as Taun was.

And by hardly present, they had only seen her face once over a transmission as she had instructed them and informed them that in the coming months would be the final stretch of their training. She was preparing something and the Spartans had no idea as to what that may be.

Regardless, they pressed on with their training.

Mendez and Tarfful made sure to push them to their absolute limits and had them forcibly go beyond them.

Tarfful had even roared aloud something about "Plus Ultra", whatever that meant.

And now they were here.

Their ultimate last hurdle for their training.

Well… Step 1 of 2 of their last hurdle as Mendez aptly put it.

And what a hurdle it was.

Back into the Shadowlands.

Only this time there was a large distinction from their last time here within this landscape.

From what they had been able to gather due to where they had been dropped off at, it was clear to them that their end goal was to get to and survive the _true_ Shadowlands all with a goal in mind.

Rather than just survival, Tarfful had spoken of a specific goal in mind.

Each Spartan team has been given dots on the map of the Shadowlands for each individual team. They are to retrieve what is found there and be brought to the top of the Tree of Origins.

How they are to collect these items and objects is entirely up to them.

Each team can either do it by themselves or work collectively overall.

For Tarfful and Mendez, it didn't matter.

So long as they get it done.

"Spartans." Mendez said aloud. He no longer called them Trainees by this point. "This is where Tarfful, Taun and I will leave you to the gate guardian of the Rryatt trail. This… is your final mission. Your final task. Listen to what Krepauk has to say and listen well. Commit his words to memory as you have done with everything we have taught you."

Tarfful roared aloud several sentences of his own to bolster their resolve and encouraged them to become greater than they already were.

Taun simply said that they will pass and she will be waiting for them by the end of it all.

All seventy-five stood straight, firm and tense with anticipation.

They were ready and will not fail.

The trio that had accompanied them stepped back when a Wookiee came up to them riding atop a large quadruped reptilian that could be described as slightly crocodilian in appearance.

This was the Rryatt Gate Guardian Krepauk and his mount was a sacred creature to the Wookiees known as a Katarn.

Katarns had slender bodies with rodent-like tails, and narrow faces leading back to a cartilaginous ridge protecting their neck and shoulders. Their paws had opposable digits, and their lower limbs were covered with sharp spurs, both of which allowed them to climb and hang from the branches of the giant Wroshyr trees.

Tarfful whined and growled several greetings at the Gate Guardian with Krepauk pounding his chest as a show of respect and promise towards the Chieftain and friend.

With Krepauk now alone with the Spartan-II's, he jumped down from his Katarn and regarded them all.

Krepauk then began to speak to the Spartans, telling them how he had heard much about them from Tarfful and the potential they possessed.

He recognizes it and states that this is where their potential will be brought out to its fullest capacity.

The Wookiee went on to describe the trial overall with the five paths that they were to undertake in the coming month.

They would be starting with the safest area, the Common Paths atop a series of hills. They would then move on up to the High Grounds which contains dense foliage that would eventually lead them to the Wroshyr canopy.

The last two parts would be the most exceptionally dangerous.

The Web weaver path which was home to an exceptionally large population of Wyyyschokk, something that made several of the Spartan-II's grumble in aggravation at facing those multi-legged bastards again.

And last, but especially not least, the Shadowlands proper.

The most dangerous and fiercest area where only the best of the Wookiee warriors along with a number of exceptionally deadly creatures. Terentateks, Gúta, Tuk'ata, Gundark, Vornskr and Maalraas just to name a few.

And some of these weren't even native to the Shadowlands.

They had been taken from other colonial worlds that had jungles in them and brought here by the Wookiees for the purpose of creating more elite warriors and pushing the Wookiees to greater degrees of skill.

It was always still a funny thing to consider for many of the UNSC.

Though large and intimidating, Wookiees for the most part were calm, cheerful and quite lovable towards many. People tend to forget just how dangerous and skilled a Wookiee is in combat.

It's why many within the UNSC respect them so much.

Krepauk finished his "presentation" of their final trial, informing that from here on out, they were on their own.

They were to complete their assigned tasks or die trying.

The gates before them opened and with their tools that were given to them in hands, the Spartan-II's ran in at full speed with the intent to win.

_-Two Weeks Later-_

"TAKE IT DOWN, TAKE IT DOWN!"

"GRAB THE ARMS!"

"SAM, DOUGLAS! OVER HERE!"

A motley crew of about fourteen Spartan-II's were currently engaging a particularly large creature that had multiple limbs with blood red skin.

This was a Gundark.

It roared and thrashed about, tossing two of the Spartans away though two of its arms were quickly tackled and held by another seven.

"Keep it secure!" Fred-104 roared aloud, grasping onto the Gundarks upper right arm with all of his might.

"Trying." Alice-130 responds, holding it with one arm while embedding her combat knife into the creature's forearm.

"Tackle it!" Leon-011 yelled out with him, the other two standing Spartans and the two that recovered from being tossed all running at the Gundark at full speed.

The advent of five Spartan-II's jumping atop the Gundark was enough for it to topple over onto its back.

The other nine that had been holding the arms down pinned it with all their weight. The rest scrambled up and collectively stabbed the creature at once in the head.

It let out a gurgle of resistance and pain, blood pooling out of its mouth before it slumped over in defeat with death claiming the Gundark at last.

The fourteen Spartan-II's slumped in relief and exhaustion, all breathing heavily after this little ordeal.

Their clothes were in tatters, injuries riddling their bodies with bandages covering most of them.

They had been separated from the other Spartans, though this was intentionally done as to find the objects that had been scattered throughout the Shadowlands for each team to retrieve.

This group is composed of Blue, Red, Omega and Gold Team.

John, Sam, Kelly, Fred, Linda, Jerome, Douglas, Alice, Jorge, Leon, August, Robert, 073 and Cassandra-075.

Silver team was off somewhere with Green Team.

Gray team up and disappeared as they usually do.

Black team is supposed to be with Alpha and Gamma.

The others were all mixed up altogether.

This was a rather trying time to say the least.

Their first week was relatively simple all things considered.

Kurt-051 believed that since they were headed into the Shadowlands, it was unnecessary to engage most of the wildlife and stick to subversions and hiding in order to avoid them.

It was unanimously agreed upon.

The Common Path and High Grounds were cleared with relative ease, each one taking about two days to cross through.

Tarfful's training in being maneuverable paid off in spades when swinging through the trees.

The Wroshyr Canopy was where things started to get a bit more trickier, with 051 essentially taking point with the best spotters of the group.

Kurt would always make sure to tell them to lay low whenever a creature that he perceived as a threat was nearby.

It was one of his "funny feelings" that he got and had as if magically developed over the course of these eight years.

This was one of Kurt's greatest personal assets, with his "funny feelings" having allowed him to avoid traps, perceive when something bad was about to occur or when his team was about to get attacked. He had competed with John, Jerome, Fred, Leon, Margaret and many of the other team leaders with him coming out on top more often than not.

It appeared that Kurt's "funny feelings" were just as potent and useful as John's indescribable lucky streak.

With Kurt's "enhanced" perception, he was able to navigate them all through the Wroshyr Canopy relatively unscathed for the most part.

There were several run-ins here and there with some of the local and newer native wildlife but they got away for the most part. They cleared the Wroshyr Canopy on their seventh day.

But then they entered the Webweaver Path.

And that was when things started becoming more hectic.

It was as if the Wyyyschokk had been waiting for six long years for this moment and came down upon the 75 Spartan-II's with a burning vengeance.

They had to endure a week through the Webweaver path, surviving encounter after encounter with swarms of Wyyyschokk spiders by the skin of their teeth.

That path really was their turf.

After surviving that ordeal, they had entered the Shadowlands proper.

And it was as hellacious as they expected it to be.

Less than an hour into the darkened ground level of Kashyyyk were they attacked by a cavalcade of creatures, as if the bastards were waiting for them.

By day's end, the Spartan-II's were nearly spent as they had spent nearly eleven hours running, attacking and killing so many of the creatures that inhabited the Shadowlands, they barely had enough energy to find a secure enough area in between some tightly packed trees for cover.

Most were certainly thankful of their intuition and foresight that they would all one day return to this madness so they had studied extensively on all the vegetation and wildlife that could be found here, both old and new.

It paid off, for the most part.

They knew where to strike most of the creatures and the fastest way to kill them.

If only there weren't so many of them.

Now, this was day 18 on the 18th of February.

They had ten days left to retrieve the items and complete the training course.

Honestly, it was looking more and more like survival but really that's what they've all been doing since they started those eight long years ago.

Some had turned 14 with others soon about to become 14.

"How much further to your location, Jerome?" John asked, Red leader pulling out his map of the Shadowlands.

They were tired but not exhausted. Not yet.

He took a moment to look the map over, squinting at it before looking around until he seemed to find what he was looking for.

"Up there." 092 said, pointing on high.

Everyone else turned to look up at where Red Leader was pointing at and they saw a brown bag that was strapped to a tree trunk.

"What's that supposed to be?" Sam asked aloud in bewilderment.

"It's a bag of some kind." Linda noted.

"Yeah, but what's the point of that?" August asked. "Is that what we're after?"

"Seems like it." Douglas said, gazing at the map over Jerome's shoulder. "It's marked directly where our objective is."

"Alright." Robert shrugged. "Let's get 'em."

"Let's get 'em?" Cassandra repeated with a quirk of her brow.

"What?" Robert-025 said in a defensive manner. "Aren't we trained to scale trees like that? We have a Wookiee Chieftain as one of our Commanding Officers."

"Alright, enough." Jerome said with a tinge of amusement. "Let's get them down."

With some well-timed planning, movement and such, the Spartan-II's retrieved the bag and were back on the ground.

They were huddled around 092, 130 and 042 as they opened up the bag to reveal the contents within.

"Rocks?" Sam said aloud in open confusion. "Chief Mendez and Tarfful sent us in here to get some rocks?"

Many of the Spartan-II's were frowning as they regarded one of the rocks that Douglas had pulled out to examine in his hand.

"Sure doesn't look like a regular rock." 042 noted, tossing it towards Fred who caught it and examined it.

"It's… metallic." Fred said after a moment, feeling it out with his hand.

"So it's a metal then?" Linda asked.

"Guess so." Alice said, holding her own piece.

"What do you think it's for then?" Leon asked, holding out his hand for one rock with Jerome placing it in his palm.

"No idea." Jerome admitted. "John?"

117 had a shrug of his own. "Don't know metals all that well. Yumi and Li have a better understanding of it then all of us do."

"Wish they were here right about now." August stated. "They probably have an idea what these are for."

"Whatever it is, Mendez and Tarfful expects us to get this done." Fred stated.

"He's right." Leon said in agreement. "We should get a move on. Omega's isn't far off from here."

The others nodded, gathering themselves and any equipment that was lying around after the battle with the Gundark and ran towards the direction of the next bag.

Elsewhere, another group of Spartans were currently recuperating after an intense skirmish with a Katarn.

They were aware of the importance of the Katarn by this point and had opted for restraint over killing it, knowing that the creature would eventually break free. All they needed was to grab the bag for Bronze Team and book it out of there.

Bronze team had been accompanied by Green, Silver and they had run into Yellow team.

This group of Spartan-II's was composed of Kurt, Will, Fhajad, Musa, Joshua, Naomi, Li, James, Yumi, Joyner, Nicole and Daniel.

They were currently seated upon some rocks, elevated dirt mounds and a tree log.

Yellow team had gotten their bag of metal rocks with the group now examining the unusual items they were tasked with retrieving.

"So…" Daniel leaned forward from his seat atop a rock. "Yumi, Li. The two of you know metals better than we do. Any idea what these are for?"

"Got several I can think of." Yumi muttered, holding a metal rock close to her face. "Li, you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Li was silent for a few seconds until nodding. "Yeah, I think I have an idea why this specifically."

"And?" Nicole said aloud, speaking for the others. "What is it?"

Yumi tossed her rock back to Daniel who caught it and put it away.

"We're in the Shadowlands, right?" Yumi pointed out. "We've been reading a lot about this place cause we knew we'd probably come back here one day."

Most of the group silently nodded with Li now speaking.

"And aside from being extremely dangerous, what else is the Shadowlands known and used for?" Li asked looking at the group expectantly.

"This…" Fhajad hummed in thought. "Is a proving ground for young Wookiees. Where they become proven warriors to their people."

"Exactly." Li said with a small grin. "This is the proving ground for Wookiee warriors. ODST's and other skilled human marines and some Mon Cala have also been taken here to prove themselves."

008 pulled out one of his rocks and held it up.

"Within ancient customs still practiced by some today, the Wookiee is to forge a Ryyk blade of their own to signal their transition into adulthood." Li said with a widening grin. "This is our trial to adulthood. With these metals, we will be forging our own Ryyk blades. And since I've read there aren't a lot who possess Ryyk blades."

"Whoa." Kurt couldn't deny the smile growing on his face. "That's awesome."

"It is, isn't it?" Yumi remarked. "So we have two with us."

"We' need to get Silver and Green Teams." Joyner pointed out.

"Ours is a bit of a distance." Fhajad stated, pulling out his map.

Daniel had done the same, holding his map in hands and going over to 084.

"From the looks of it…" Daniel looked between both maps several times. "Ours is along the way to Green Teams'."

"Perfect." Kurt declared. "Then we can knock out two birds with one stone. Let's get going everyone."

_-6 days later-_

"GRAB IT JOHN!" Sam bellowed out, while using a rock to literally bash a Gundarks eye in.

John-117 was perched upon a branch and jumped forward with a Gundark narrowly missing him from behind.

He snagged the bag that was intended for his team and latched on to the adjacent tree before having to literally drop as the Gundark that had pursued him jumped at him.

Falling to the ground, John quickly grabbed a branch to perform a spin and flip in the air before landing with a slight wobble.

The Gundark that had been chasing him crashed to the ground in a daze as it had struck its head against the hard tree trunk that had held Blue Team's metal rocks.

Earlier, Omega had gotten theirs as did Gold and earlier the other day, they had linked up with Gamma, Alpha and Black Team with them having retrieved their own metals.

Retrieving this bag had been particularly bothersome in an indescribable sort of way.

They had somehow travelled past a nest of Gundarks on the way to Gold teams objective, with them having killed at least four of them before running off after retrieving the bag.

But upon linking up with Black, Alpha and Gamma teams, they were suddenly attacked by Gundarks again.

The very same Gundarks that were a part of the nest Blue, Red, Gold and Omega had fought off just two days prior.

Since then, they had been fighting and running from the surviving Gundarks that appeared to be determined to kill them.

What was worse was along the way, other predatory and dangerous creatures had joined in on the chase. Terentateks, Gúta, Tuk'ata, all these bastards were pursuing the Spartan-II's.

It was a damn nightmare.

This truly was the absolute most dangerous part of the Shadowlands.

"John got our bag." Kelly said aloud.

"Good, then we can get the hell out of here!" Otto-031 of Black team yelled aloud as he aided Margaret and Roma-143 in killing a large Gúta having had to use vines and rope to trip it up.

The Spartan-II's all began a mad dash to escape the area using makeshift tools that held grains of dirt and sand to throw at the pursuing creatures in attempts to blind them.

Keiichi-047 specialized in understanding chemicals better than most of the other Spartan-II's. He had done extensive studies upon the flora and plant life of the Shadowlands.

Upon arrival, Keiichi set about crafting multiple spears and had managed to make several arrows and a bow. Finding the flora he was looking for, Keiichi laced several of the spears he and his team had made with sap and powder from the foliage.

Their weapons were now laced with deadly poison that would take down even the largest creature that resided within the Shadowlands.

The large group had used up the last of their poison tipped spears and arrows, at long last getting away from these rampaging beasts.

The day had been won.

**February 26th**

They were ragged, covered in scratches and bruises with a majority of their clothes torn up with some having been gone altogether save for their privates and a few other areas.

But they did it.

All 75 Spartan-II's had at long last survived the hellacious ordeal of the Shadowlands and had gathered the bags of metal rocks that Mendez and Tarfful had set up for them to retrieve.

They now stood assembled at a hut that had a Wookiee standing before it with his arms crossed in approval.

This was Gorwooken.

He had been told to await their arrival and huffed out in amusement and an impressed tone of how they were earlier than expected.

After they had all managed to catch some proper respite as the Wookiee assured them that they were safe within this area, Gorwooken guided them towards an elevator that would take them up all the way to the top of the Origin Tree of Kashyyyk.

Soon, the 75 Spartan-IIs were taken up to a platform that was high atop the Origin tree.

Waiting there for them was Mendez and Tarfful, both of whom sported proud expressions as the Spartans all filed in and stood at attention.

"Trainees." Mendez said aloud. "Can't call any you that ever again. You are no longer Trainees. Not cadets or privates for that matter. Now, each and every one of you are _Spartans."_

Tarfful barked aloud, exclaiming in pride that they had done what they were told to do with flying colors. Each injury that would become a scar signified their willingness to fight through any ordeal to get their task done.

They had all arrived here together, as one.

Utilizing every skill they had, collectively and individually, they had retrieved the metals that they will now use to forge the traditional Ryyk blades.

It was a strange feeling for the 75 Spartan-II's, as if all their exhaustion and pain they had accumulated seemingly disappeared.

"Words cannot express how much pride I feel in seeing you all achieve this momentous task." Mendez declared. "You have all shown the capacity to go beyond what is asked of you and now stand among the absolute elite of the entirety of the UNSC. Whatever happens in the coming days, never forget what _all of you_ have accomplished here."

They stood at attention, snapping to a salute and all bellowing out unanimously, "SIR!"

None of them had truly considered the tone in which Mendez spoke with that last sentence. None of them cared at that moment.

All that mattered was the level of recognition they were receiving from Mendez and Tarfful and the creation of their own Ryyk Blades.

If only they knew the ordeal that was to come in the next few weeks.

And if only they knew that this would be one of the last times that they would all be able to stand together as brothers and sisters with their heads held high.

For all the while, during their final test within the month of February, the galaxy was in motion.

On the **third** of **February,** the UNSC had abruptly lost contact with Harvest. On the **ninth,** a boy with the initials of JD was born in the city of Crisium on Luna.

**February 11** , the UNSC made contact with an unknown ship and on the **28th** of this month, Catherine Halsey had given birth to her daughter.

The month of February within the year of 2525 was the beginning of a colossal tidal wave that would come to sweep across the galaxy in the coming years.

Many just didn't know it yet.

**March 9th**

_Kamino_

_Su Des Facility_

_Halsey's office_

Today was the day.

The culmination of eight years would be put on the table on this day. In a figurative and literal manner.

The Spartans, _her_ Spartans were about to undergo the most strenuous and life-threatening ordeal of their entire life. And this was after what they had just endured and accomplished in the Shadowlands.

Of course this would occur just nine days after the birth of her daughter.

She shook those thoughts and pushed them down.

Now wasn't the time for such hesitation.

When history shows what she had been done to be necessary, she, along with those involved would be absolved of her sins.

Going over the coming procedures, she reviewed each and every augmentations that would be surgically and chemically implanted into the Spartans.

Each one was just as dangerous as the last and no amount of testing and experimentation on flash-clones had been able to assuage Halsey's fears.

They had gotten much in terms of advancements in terms of survivability rates with the Spartan-II's but it came at the cost of many screams of terror and unbearable pain that she and Taun had conducted.

Though they were only flash-clones, those screams may become reality within the coming days.

Letting out a shaky sigh, she began reviewing the augmentations individually.

The holo-file that was displayed before was labeled Project: ASTER.

She opened the file and upon reading the first one, Halsey found herself smirking in slight amusement.

_-Flashback-_

_Halsey was reviewing the augmentation procedures within her office when Tarfful entered._

" _Tarfful?" Halsey spoke up in confusion. "What is it? Is something wrong?"_

_The Wookiee saw what she was working on and let out a small shaking chuckle._

_He growled out the coincidence in what she was looking over. He apparently wished to discuss the same topic with her._

_Confused slightly, Halsey simply watched as Tarfful approached her desk and walked around to stand by her side._

_The Wookiee Chieftain reviewed the augmentations for several moments before pointing to one in particular._

" _Graar Raa." Tarfful declared much to Halsey's bewilderment._

" _Change it? Change it how?"_

_Tarfful let out a series of growls and moans for his reasons._

" _Tarfful, I don't think you understand that-"_

_He cut her off with a bark that said, "I know exactly what it does and why they need it". Tarfful rumbled about not liking one of the side-effects._

_Halsey blinked. "That's what you don't like? Tarfful… I know that what we've done is something that is beyond anything that can be defined as immoral-"_

_Once again, Tarfful interrupted the coordinator of the program with a statement that made Halsey pause in her thoughts._

" _Happiness?"_

_Tarfful said what had been reiterated to the Spartans themselves on numerous occasions by this point._

_Soldiers they may be, they were also still, very much human._

_And in the eyes of Tarfful, they were making them commit to a life they did not choose and on the offset chance that they have an opportunity for their own choice of happiness, they deserved it._

_Something Halsey wholeheartedly agreed to._

_-End of Flashback-_

Since then, she had been going over how to make the alterations needed without raising any suspicions from ONI itself.

It was rather tricky to say the least due to the importance of this particular augmentation but after implementing a discreet chemical within it, Halsey was confident that this would work.

Catalytic Thyroid Implant, the first of the Augmentations.

A platinum pellet is implanted in the left thyroid gland; this pellet contains a human growth hormone that is released into the body to boost growth of skeletal and muscle tissues. As the hormone is released into the body the pellet dissolves and is absorbed, the hormone targets and stimulates the growth of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, effectively producing significant gains in muscle mass. The hormone also targets osteoblasts to help boost bone tissue formation and effectively strengthen the bone structure.

This was chosen first as it was ideal to be given to the Spartans during their fledgling stages of puberty. It was meant to be given at this stage within the Spartans lives as they already were undergoing a comprehensive diet and physical regime that would allow them to facilitate the effects of the growth hormone to its fullest potential. With this, they would grow dramatically in height and increased muscle mass to a significant degree.

The drawbacks of this augmentation may have a 0.5% chance of elephantiasis.

If this is not to occur, that's where the next procedure comes in. The muscular enhancement injections.

In addition to the growth hormone catalyst, a protein complex is injected intramuscularly that targets the muscles' intracellular molecular machinery to help increase muscle strength and endurance. These injections target the muscles' molecules increasing the density of the connective tissues and fibers, the more visible result being the muscles quivering and contorting over one another, making connecting tendons stronger and decreasing lactase recovery time.

This chemical injection is meant to override the GDF8 protein, known more commonly as myostatin which would limit the muscle mass within the Spartan-II's to a certain size under normal circumstances.

After extensive research and constant do overs, what was originally a 5% of subjects increasing fatal cardiac volume was slashed down to 2.2%.

Then came the Occipital Capillary Reversal surgery which was one of the most dangerous of the augmentations.

Surgery is performed on the occipital lobe of the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain; the occipital lobe is the visual processing center of the brain, containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex. The surgeon performs a procedure on the capillaries, the smallest of the body's blood vessels, to reverse the direction of blood flow in each capillary to boost the blood flow beneath the rods and cones of the subject's retina. The rods and cones of the eye are light-sensitive receptors located in the back of the eye. Together they are able to detect movement, light and color, and relay that information back to the brain. This procedure has a secondary step meant to be compounded upon with the inclusion of a bionic optical lens implant that re-engineers the eyes. In turn, the Spartans in theory should have a marked increase in perception on a litany of levels one of which is supposedly having near perfect eyesight in the dark. After many years of application of Flash-Clones, the risks were cut down from 11% to 7.8% from getting permanently blinded.

Followed by this surgery came the most dangerous of all the augmentations.

The Superconducting Fibrification of Neural Dendrites.

The nerves of a human being and frankly every sentient species, while extremely good at transmitting chemical messages across the body were still very much limited. This of course came from natural limitations and such in all materials, even ones that are electrically conducted.

Their nerves are essentially replaced with a nano-particular superconductive material that would carry the chemical signals significantly faster than the previous dendrites. There are also alterations of bioelectrical nerve transduction to shielded electronic transduction. It is believed that once this is done, the reaction time of the Spartans should skyrocket by 300%.

Of course, the one with some of the most significant of enhancements is the one with the greatest risk factor. This one they had tried to mitigate in terms of risks, succeeding in reducing from 12% to only 9.8% of contraction Parkinson's disease and Fletcher's Syndrome.

Ironically, the most gruesome of the surgeries in Halsey's opinions had carried one of the lowest of risks after what she had been able to pull off with Taun We.

Carbide Ceramic Ossification.

The candidate's bones are exposed via surgery or procedurally sequential surgeries. An advanced carbide ceramic material is grafted onto the skeletal structure to begin assimilation into the upper layers of each individual bone. This should, in theory, result in the bones being virtually unbreakable. The coverage of this procedure does not exceed 3% total bone mass due to significant white blood cell necrosis: effectively, the carbide ceramic can only comprise a thin outer "shell" bonded to each bone without interfering with bone functionality as organs.

They had cut the dangers of this procedure from 4% to 1.7% from getting possible bone mutation or worse, pulverization.

After going through all the numbers and combining the percentage of all the risks into one, Halsey saw that in total, there was a 22% chance of the Spartans either rejecting the augmentations…

Or worse, perishing from them.

Making all the training they had undergone all be for nothing.

So now they run the risk of every Spartan having either a 1 out of 5 chances of surviving to 1 out of 4 or even 3.

Taun had constantly reminded Halsey of how each one would take to the procedure _extremely_ differently from one another. So it could be all over the place for all that she knows.

Stress couldn't even begin to describe what she was going through.

Suddenly, she heard a voice via the intercom.

" _Halsey."_ Taun's calm voice chimed in. _"They have been prepped and ready. It is time."_

Exhaling shakily, Halsey stood from her chair and walked out of her office.

This was it.

_-Su Des operation room-_

The room was curved, looking like an enlarged hallway so to speak.

75 operating beds were sticking out of the walls with multiple medical and operating tools.

Above it all was an observation deck wherein Halsey would watch the procedures with Taun We at her side.

Deja was also present with the trio looking down below as the first set of Spartan-II's were sent in for the augmentation procedures.

Each one of them was marked in where each surgery was meant to take place.

Halsey didn't realize she was trembling slightly in an overwhelming degree of anxiety and fear.

One by one, group by group, all 75 were sent to their individual operating table and were placed under sedation several moments later.

She recalled the conversation she had with them all prior to this.

Or really, the single question posed by one John-117.

" _How do we succeed in this coming mission, sir!"_

His question echoed in her mind with the gruff, laser-calm voice of Mendez floating within her head.

" _Hold fast Spartans. And survive."_

The surgeries had begun.

May god have mercy on all of them.

_-Scene Cut-_

…

…

…

_The pain!_

_The pain was beyond excruciating._

_Their spines were burning. It felt like glass was cutting their skin to ribbons only for them to still be alive._

_Consciousness waned back and forth with pain forcibly awakening them only to override their nervous system and knock them into unconsciousness once more._

_Their blood vessels were molten and bones felt like they were being individual pierced by metal needles._

_Everything was hurting in such ways that it couldn't begin to be described._

_Wait…_

_No! NO!_

_What was happening next to him?!_

_Why was there so much blood?!_

_He isn't moving!_

_Save him!_

_Sa-_

_***GASP*** _

John-117's eyes snapped open only for him to wince and close them quickly.

His body refused to respond to his demands for movement for several seconds until he brought up his hands to his eyes.

Everything was burning, aching or both.

Slowly, he sat up and opened his eyes with them adjusting to the strange new sensation he had upon opening them a moment ago.

John held up his arms, taking note of the multiple surgical scars that were all over his hands and arms as well as his legs and body entirely.

Looking up, John saw multiple operating beds vacant save for a select few that were still occupied by his Spartan brothers and sisters.

He saw one not far from his own that still had someone on it, with his voice coming out slightly hoarse as he called out to her.

"Kelly."

"John."

117 looked over to see his best friend Sam walking over to him in a rather slow manner.

"Sam." John said in relief. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I… I'm not entirely sure." Sam admitted nervously. "I woke up first and was taken away by Chief Mendez to recover in a more secure area."

John looked down at his lap, then back over to Kelly followed by the other still sleeping Spartans.

"Are you alright, John?" Sam asked, placing a tentative hand upon his brother's shoulder.

John's shoulder twitched making 034 recoil slightly with an apologetic look.

"I… think I'm ok." John said slowly. "Everything just…"

"Feels different." Sam said expectantly with John nodding.

"Where are the others?" John asked.

"I've only seen Linda and Fhajad so far." Sam answered in a slightly dejected manner. "Mendez just let me come in here cause I wouldn't take no for an answer. Had to see how you were doing man."

John gave his friend an appreciative smile, carefully maneuvering himself to stand.

Cautiously, John felt his entire body strain as he got to his feet keeping his hands on the bed as support.

"Wha-what'd they do to us?" 117 asked, holding up his hand and flexed it twice with an uncomfortable pain with every bent muscle.

"Changed us, that's for sure." Sam stated, looking past John at Kelly in concern. "Come on, let's get you changed and rested up properly."

**March 25th**

It was… well, it couldn't be described to them.

Though it was so few, they were still their brothers and sisters.

They had at last learned what they had done to them proper.

Biochemical and biomechanical augmentation.

Out of the 75 Spartans who went in, 55 had survived the procedure entirely.

Four were unfortunately crippled and by the looks of it in a grotesque manner. Eight were dubbed "washouts" as their bodies had apparently rejected most of the augmentations yet there were some noticeable differences.

However, to them, it was the eight Spartans that had perished in the procedure that had them shaken to their core.

They were dead.

And there was nothing anyone of them were able to do to save them.

This didn't make sense. How could this have happened?

Were they not supposed to look out for one another? Were they not supposed to see this training to the very end?

Why couldn't they have done anything?

The team leaders, particularly 117, 092, 051 and 104 were exceptionally hard on themselves as well as furious over the outcome.

They had practically demanded Mendez, Tarfful, Taun and Halsey in telling them what happened.

All they told them, Mendez really, was that this was beyond their control. This was a battle that could not be won on strategy or tactics.

But on chance unfortunately.

The fact that while there were some that didn't get the augmentations, the fact that 67 out of the 75 were alive was a true miracle.

And the 55 that were properly augmented showed a testament to their fortitude that would be unmatched by any and all within the UNSC.

So that left the question.

What now?

For that, Tarfful had an answer.

**April 5th**

_Kashyyyk._

The fifty-five augmented Spartans stood around in a large circle with their twelve un-augmented Spartan brethren in attendance as well.

Halsey and Taun We stood in the background while Tarfful and Mendez stood in the center of the Spartans.

"Tonight." Mendez spoke in a low voice. "We honor our fallen brethren."

Within the center of this large circle were eight small pyres that held eight individuals in naval uniforms.

The fallen.

"Though they did not survive in body, they survive in spirit." Mendez said.

At the head of each pyre was each individual Ryyk Blade that they had constructed here on Kashyyyk. They were embedded into the ground, marking the final resting places of their comrades.

"These past eight years have proven to me, to Tarfful, to all the UNSC that the future of peace and of our people are in firm hands." Mendez said to all the Spartans who were silent.

Their eyes were only on their dead siblings.

Tarfful growled with a tone of sorrow and somberness as each Spartan held up a torch that Tarfful proceeded to ignite with his own already lit one.

The Wookiee Chieftain went on to tell them all of the sacred bond they would all share to their last day, how it was forged in trials such as the ones they had endured here and will only strengthen as the years go by.

Though the Spartan-II's called Reach their home, Kashyyyk was a close second.

This is where they had their final training op before their augmentation.

The area they now stood in for the proper funeral of their fallen would now be a sacred sight for them and them alone.

To honor the last time all 75 Spartan-II's stood together in victory.

Together, the remaining sixty-seven all converged at once and held out their torches.

The pyres caught fire and moments later, eight roaring fires were before them.

It was completely silent other than the crackling sounds of flames consuming the dead.

No words needed to be spoken for this instance.

Not a word.

**October 7th**

It had been several months by this point since their augmentations.

They had all been sent on multiple missions, taking down Insurrectionist nests, strongholds and leaders.

It had taken some time after augmentation to adjust to their new bodies. Headaches, blood coming out of their eyes, vertigo, perception changes and body aches persisted in the weeks to come.

But eventually, they adapted.

To say that they were superhuman would be undercutting it.

Halsey, Taun and Mendez commented how they had completely surpassed all of their expectations.

Tarfful had noted with a keen eye that they had gotten these augmentations around this stage in their lives for a reason.

It is believed that as time would go on, they would get better adjusted to these new enhancements and possibly get stronger, faster and so on and so forth.

It was… amazing.

Spartan's like Douglas, Jorge and especially Sam became stronger than ever with 034's strength being unrivaled.

Kelly was completely untouchable in her speed.

Riz-028 commented on how things just snapped into focus almost instantaneously for her.

Their reaction time, speed, everything, _everything_ had changed.

And today… in more ways than one.

John was with Sam in the gym, spotting for his friend who was currently bench pressing 1200 pounds. A new record for him.

"Aw man." Sam commented with a roguish grin. "I'm finally starting to break a sweat here. Forgot what that was for a moment."

John only grinned in amusement at his comments.

"Want me to make it harder?" John asked with a glint in his eye.

"Sure, I could use a challenge." Sam remarked smugly.

John only placed his hand on the center of the bench press bar Sam was holding up and began to push down.

Sam jolted slightly in shock before gaining a challenging smile and began to push back with all of his might.

The two were so focused on this little contest, they didn't notice their teammate walk in.

"John, Sam." Kelly called out to the two, making them both stop and look up at her.

"Kelly?" John said.

"Something up?" Sam asked with Kelly nodding.

"Come on." She gestured for them to follow. "Halsey and Mendez called for a meeting."

Sharing a look between each other, John and Sam set the bar down and quickly followed after 087 to the amphitheater.

There, they saw most of the other Spartan-II's being assembled, some coming in from other doors.

At the center stood Halsey, Mendez, Tarfful, Taun and a Navy Vice-Admiral they vaguely recognized.

Hieronymus "Harold" Michael Stanforth.

With him was a Mon Cala Navy officer as well whose expression was grim and shaken.

The two were in deep conversation with Mendez and Tarfful, not even acknowledging the newly arrived Spartans for the most part.

Blue team sat itself down next to Gold team and Green team.

"Kurt, Fred." John whispered to them both. "What's going on?"

"No idea." Kurt stated with a troubled face.

"Maybe Insurrection?" Fred suggested. "We did get one of their leaders recently."

"Maybe…" John said. "Seems big if we got a Vice-Admiral and Captain here."

"Whatever it is… I got a bad feeling about this." Kurt declared, making most of those who heard him shift about with great discomfort.

Kurt's "feelings" were almost never wrong.

After the commanding officers appeared to have finished discussing whatever it was that demanded such serious expressions, the Vice-admiral stood at the front of the stage.

The Spartan-II's immediately saluted him.

"At ease Spartans." the high ranking officer said. "I am Vice-Admiral Stanforth for those of you who don't know me."

Stepping to the side slightly, a planet was then projected in between all the adults on stage.

"This is Harvest." Stanforth revealed. "Joint colony world with our Wookiee brethren, population 3 million. A peaceful and productive farming world."

Next to the planet an unidentified ship then appeared.

"On February Third, 14:23 hours, the Harvest orbital platform made long range radar contact with this unknown ship." Stanforth's tone shifted into something much more subdued. "After that, all contact from Harvest was lost for a number of days. Command had assembled a battle group."

They were then shown a first person's view of the arrival of the battle group with them seeing a scorched planet.

"What they found was all that was left of Harvest."

This certainly was news to them, making many widen their eyes in slight disbelief.

Three million lives lost? What in the world happened?

"The colony was burnt to ash, the surface practically molten with power the UNSC has never seen." Stanforth said, tone becoming more grim by the second. "Then, they encountered this."

They now saw the ship from before more clearly and defined.

It was large to say the least and really… purple.

"A starship of unknown design belonging to a species we have not yet encountered."

The Mon Cala Captain then stepped forward.

"Our battle group was assaulted moments later with the UNSC Heracles and the MC Spearhead being the only two survivors." The Captain said.

"What we have learned is that these aliens are not here to be reasoned, bartered or negotiated with." The Captain's eyes were fierce to say the least. "They have made their intentions clear when the surviving crew of both ships returned with this message."

What the Spartans saw was a shadowy figure that spoke in a disdainful and menacing tone.

_"Humans… your allies, the Wookiees and the Mon Calamari as they are called. Your destruction is the will of the Gods...and we are their instrument."_

The message ended with Spartans sitting in stunned silence.

This… was not at all what they were expecting.

To encounter a new alien race that would declare war so openly and suddenly…

Everything… everything had changed.

**Alright, ladies and gentlemen, it is time. Time for a very,** _**very** _ **long war and one of the longest undertakings BSX and I are gonna go through.**

**Everything starts here.**

**We have had five chapters of buildup and in the next chapter, the opening salvos of the war. Much to do with us now having to handle the perspective of multiple individuals but hey, we've been planning for this for some time. Now is that time for the first war of our story.**

**BSX: Yeah, everything's coming together as planned, as we said before. We have issues to address.**

**FMW: Yes indeed. Now, first off, looking at some of the reviews a question of shields was brought up. As of this moment, the UNSC DOES NOT HAVE SHIELDS…. YET. This is something BSX addressed in a previous chapter but it seems some didn't get the memo. So here and now,** _**right now** _ **for this moment, no shields on the UNSC ships. Some of you may not like it, but we decided on this** _**months ago.** _

**Next up, no Kaleesh. Like we said before, the races had been decided upon before we began the story. There will, as of this moment, be no other races to join into the story. If there are that we decide upon, it will be for MUCH LATER.**

**BSX: I need to reiterate what I said in the last chapter because I screwed up what I was trying to say. I did say that we're taking characters from all Legends and Canon material but I wasn't specific on it. What I meant is we're taking some characters here and there from different eras of Star Wars especially the SW species side of things. We wanted more SW species representing the story so we're pulling different characters from legends and canon so that they exist side by side.**

**FMW: Yes, so for someone like Revan to show up… no promises as of yet as we have not discussed him for the most part and for now, don't hold your breaths. Not that he's off the table, just into consideration until further notice.**

**Next up is the augmented Spartans. That's something we did discuss extensively and decided on 55 long ago. Yes I understand that some wanted all 75 to survive but those that didn't make it was an important moment for the lives of the Spartan-II's. There's a lot of characters we have to juggle in this story from the Spartan-II's to the coming 1000+ Spartan-III's, the Mass Effect characters, the Star Wars characters and other Halo characters. You get the idea.**

**So, next time, the opening salvos of the war.**

**The list of ALL THE SHIPS that the UNSC currently has meaning all the human, Mon Cala and Wookiee ships will be listed out and the 55 named Spartan-II's that survived the Augmentation.**

**Until next time everyone.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	6. Opening Salvos

**War has begun.**

**The UNSC Covenant war is underway and thus, the galaxy shall never be the same.**

**And we have a lot to do my comrades, a lot.**

**Too much to do other than to say, let's get to it. There is a war to be fought.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 6: Opening Salvos

**2525/2169**

_Journal Entry XI_

_It's always such a strange reality when looking back on this year._

_While each one after was as dramatic as the next, some mark this as the ultimate catalyst that led to the current state of the galaxy._

_And most would agree to this sentiment._

_Everything after this year fundamentally changed so much._

_Any and all events from all perspectives and sides would be inexorably linked to this year that started it all._

_End of Journal Entry._

**February 3** **rd**

_Reach_

_CASTLE Base_

It was business as usual for one Vice-Admiral Preston Cole.

He had just finished putting down another blasted Insurrection movement, this time on Reach which many within the UNSC did not take too kindly to such a matter.

Bastards tried getting their hands on one of the UNSC's newest creations, one that would undoubtedly be a gamechanger when deployed on the ground.

Though it was still in development back at the Kuat Drive Yards, this gigantic tank on wheels will be sure to send any and all Innies running to the hills.

Gazing over to one currently being constructed, one could not help but marvel at the size of this new gargantuan beauty.

Standing at 30 meters in height and stretched to nearly 50 meters in length, the HAVw A6 Juggernaut tank was a beauty to the eyes of the UNSC.

Large, lethal and loaded with so many functions and capabilities, the Juggernaut is an apt name for the tank as it is as various on terrain as it is in lethality.

It had taken some time in creating this tank as it had undergone, if one can't tell by the name, five previous variations that had varying degrees of success.

The one that came before the A6 was the A5 Juggernaut was the closest one to being put into service by the UNSC about ten years ago but it proved to be unable to sustain itself in the long run of a conflict. Afterwards, it was back to the drawing board.

And at last, after ten long years of blueprints and ideas being thrown around they had at last gotten the proper construction of a strong, durable and long lasting Juggernaut that can go straight into the heat of battle. Nothing short of a nuke would be able to stop this behemoth. Figure of speech of course.

They should be entering service within the next few months or year more likely, give or take some change. Kinks needed to be worked out of course but once done, it will undoubtedly be a formidable force on the battlefield.

"Cole!"

Preston turned and found himself grinning slightly at the sight of an old friend he had worked with in the past.

"Shepard, the hell are you doing here?" Cole greeted the ODST Captain with a boisterous tone.

"Just got reassigned here is all." Gerald said with a shrug. "Inna says hi by the way."

Cole nodded. "Good to hear. And the kids?"

"Energetic without any intentions of ever dropping." Gerald remarked, pulling out a photo from his pocket and held it out for the Vice-Admiral.

Taking it from Gerald, Cole looked over the photo and smirked slightly.

The two certainly inherited their father's wild spirit from the looks of how they were caught in the picture.

In it was their father, laughing loudly as he apparently was being tackled from behind by a young boy with short brown hair and was covered in mud. The father's arm was being pulled down by a girl with red hair that was equally as muddy as her brother.

Michael and Michelle Shepard were certainly as hyper as their father it seemed.

A brief sense of regret welled up from Cole though he repressed it for the time being, handing the photo back to its owner.

"How old?"

"In a month, four if you could believe it." Gerald remarked, gazing at his kids with a fatherly love before pocketing his photo.

"So reassigned eh?" Cole said, the two beginning to walk down a corridor of the base. "What unit?"

"Boomerang Company." Gerald said with a proud grin and Cole could understand why.

Among the many marine and ODST companies, Boomerang was ranked among the best of the best if not _the very best_ that the UNSC has to offer.

To be listed among them is a very high prestigious honor though with someone like Shepard's track record, he more than earned such a reassignment.

"Heard you recently took down another Innie unit here on Reach." Gerald brought up.

"Got pretty bold if you ask me." Cole remarked. "Attacking the heart of humanities military? Ballsy but incredibly stupid."

"Yeah, especially with a big guy like you around." Gerald stated patting Cole's back.

The two soon arrived at one of the Comm rooms of CASTLE base, many terminals and areas being manned by officers and personnel of the UNSC.

Some had stopped their work to salute Cole and Shepard where others were so engrossed in their work, they barely noticed them.

And by then, the two would have passed by as they were chatting with one another.

* **THUMP***

The two halted in their tracks, looking over to a Wookiee pair and a human around a holodeck where one of the Wookiees was growling in frustration, fist having hit the table.

"Everything alright over here?" Cole asked, walking over to them with Gerald by his side.

The trio saw the two men of higher rank and quickly saluted.

"Sirs, Milo Jenkins." The human introduced himself. "This is Berraken and Shiffooora."

The two Wookiees growled aloud in greeting.

"At ease." Cole instructed. "Mind telling us what that was just now?"

Berraken, the Wookiee that had slammed his fist down on the holodeck, moaned out an apology as he cited frustrations with communications.

"What's wrong?" Shepard asked.

"That's just it, we don't know." Milo replied with an annoyed tone.

Shiffooora whined and warbled about losing contact with a colony world and how she and her two friends were having difficulties re-establishing contact. The Slip-Space buoys were intact, both short and long range yet they were receiving nothing.

"Any idea what could have caused this?" Gerald asked, walking over to the holodeck now intrigued as to what they were dealing with.

"Not sure Captain." Jenkins admitted. "We've been trying for about an hour now. Checked over previous transmissions and communications that had been sent in and out of Harvests system. Madrigal is the only other closest colony to Harvest and they've reported the same problems still."

Berraken spoke up, bringing up several of said transmission and isolated one in particular.

Something about an unknown, unidentified contact.

Cole and Shepard shared a look with one another.

"A contact of unknown origin?" Gerald said for clarification.

Shiffooora growled out in confirmation, stating that after that they had heard nothing. She said they were planning on bringing it up to someone with higher rank within the base.

"Well, you got 'em." Cole said. "Show us everything you've gotten down so far."

**February 23** **rd**

_Harvest_

It was destroyed.

Turned to ash in a matter of a few hours, possibly even less than that.

The city of Gladsheim was completely destroyed with all of its inhabitants having been killed.

To say that one Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson was furious would be an understatement.

Seeing how there was literally no one left and that these alien bastards were the ones responsible for such an atrocity lit a fire under his ass.

Currently, he was with an old friend and fellow ORION project member Sergeant Major Nolan Byrne.

With them was a small unit of Harvest's local militia, a mix match of humans and Wookiees.

After initial meetings between these new aliens broke down, battles began erupting across the planet with the entire planet now fighting off this new threat.

From what they had gathered from their first meeting, this conglomerate of aliens called themselves the Covenant.

And from the looks of things, evolution wasn't too kind to any of them in terms of the looks department.

Or in case of the particularly large, brutish ape-like species, smell either.

Right now, they had just cleared a small company of those bird-like aliens known as the Kig-Yar and those stubby, shorter ones called the Unggoy.

The planet was undergoing evacuation, this op being labeled a top priority until they could get in contact with the rest of the UNSC fleet.

They needed to know just what in the hell was going on here and fast.

"Johnson." Nolan called out to his friend. "Scouts detected movement up ahead."

A Wookiee in their ranks roared aloud, gesturing over to large grass growing nearby.

"Good thinking, Chock." Avery said in approval, gesturing for the rest of the squad to make for cover as they heard chatter that wasn't anything like Human or Wookiee speech.

The unit waited within the grass, the alien languages growing closer and louder.

Johnson and Byrne soon saw a small group of those Unggoy and Kig-Yar that they had encountered and killed just now being led by one of those large brutish apes.

Byrne recalls them being called Jiralhanae.

But with them were several new aliens that they had not encountered at the start of the meeting.

They looked feral and downright savage to say the least.

Burning red eyes, sickly yellowish-brown and burnt looking with sharp clawed hands and an equally sharp looking set of teeth.

"The hell are those supposed to be?" Johnson asked in a low voice though he didn't expect an answer.

"How many aliens are in this fucking Covenant?" A marine whispered out; a sentiment shared by most of the unit.

The group drew closer, now seeing a bunch of their dead comrades.

The largest of their group began barking out orders in its language, the other smaller aliens got to work.

They had begun picking up the leftover weapons and moving around the bodies of their deceased.

One of those savage looking aliens came up to one of the dead Unggoy with an unpleasant gleam in its eyes.

Abruptly, a live Unggoy ran up to the feral alien and shoved it away from the deceased with the burnt looking alien growling in response.

The large brutish one roared aloud in annoyance, dispelling what might have been a confrontation.

Within the fields, Johnson looked behind him. Holding out his hand, he held up two fingers before changing it into a circle clenching it a moment later and pointing it at a small cluster of the aliens.

Looking over to Chock and another Wookiee, he pointed to his eyes and then pointed at the largest of the aliens.

They all nodded with Johnson holding up three fingers… two… one.

An Unggoy held up a blue sphere and pocketed it, going over to a group of other Unggoy.

A moment later, in between the small group, a dark greenish sphere rolled in between the small group. One picked it up and examined it for a mome-

***BOOM* *BOOM***

"GO!"

Suddenly, the small contingent of Covenant suffered from losing half their numbers via grenades. From the fields nearby, humans and Wookiees popped out and assaulted the contingent of the enemy forces.

Both Wookiees with Sergeants Byrne and Johnson ran for the largest of the group, the brutish alien roaring aloud in a challenging manner.

They ran straight at the Jiralhanae, unloading everything they had in their arsenal. While he seemed to soak up the lead bullets with ease, it appeared that Chock's bowcaster was the only weapon that actually made him stagger.

Even then, that didn't appear to be enough due to brute still standing.

The Wookiees roared aloud, now sprinting at the Jiralhanae who had readied himself as the two furry enemies drew near. Johnson and Byrne fired at the ape-like alien to keep its attention as Chock lunged forward.

He tackled the alien, making him stumble only for the back of his neck to be grabbed and flung aside with astonishing ease. The other Wookiee ducked beneath a wild swing yet was surprised by a powerful knee strike to its face. The Wookiee warrior fell to the ground, the brute ready to stomp his opponents face in.

The Jiralhanae's eye was then suddenly shot out, the brute roaring aloud in pain. It looked over to see Johnson with his weapon raised.

Then, without warning, a silvery blade came out of the Jiralhanae's chest.

Chock had recovered and ran up from behind to pierce the larger alien with his Ryyk blade. Only instead of killing the ape-like alien, it instead seemed to only further enrage it.

The large foe whirled round with a surprising speed and had its hands clamped firmly around Chock's neck.

Chock immediately began to feel air escaping from his lungs, desperately clawing and punching the Jiralhanae's arms in a vain attempt to release him. Just as he was about to succumb to the choke hold, another Ryyk blade went through the Jiralhanae.

Only this time, it was from the back of his head.

Twitching for several moments, the Jiralhanae fell to the ground dead with Chock gazing at his savior.

He grunted out a strained thanks to his Wookiee comrade who assisted him to his feet.

"Fucking hell, that is one tough bastard." Johnson remarked, going over to the two.

Both Wookiees couldn't help but make sounds of agreement, troubled by just how much of an effort they had to put in to taking down one of these newer aliens.

Over with Byrne, he was checking up on the rest of the militia that had taken out the rest of the Unggoy, Kig-Yar and one of the new savage looking aliens.

"The hell are these fuckers supposed to be?" A soldier asked, kicking one of the dead feral aliens' arms.

"No idea." Another said.

"Feels like that's gonna be a common saying for now." Byrne remarked. "Come on, we've stayed here long enough. If these bastards are in contact with each other, then they'll know that something happened with this unit."

The Sergeant then looked over to Johnson.

"Avery, we ready to move out?" Nolan called out to the fellow ORION member.

"Yeah." Johnson declared, slamming a new magazine into his Battle Rifle. "Let's go kick some ass."

**October 7th**

Harvest… has been abandoned.

With the Covenant's overwhelming numbers and superior technology, whatever UNSC forces were left upon Harvest were either evacuated or killed.

Though it was mostly killed then evacuated.

Three million to be confirmed dead.

The loss was beyond devastating.

A portion of the planet had been burnt with the landscape becoming completely unrecognizable.

Whatever UNSC forces that had survived had brought with them a message.

A message and proclamation of war.

Rapidly, this message began to spread amongst the UNSC and without a doubt, to the civilian populace.

For the time being, most would try their best to quell the spread of such news in order to better gauge as to what they were dealing with but this would eventually have to be known.

Currently, calls and transmissions were being sent out to multiple high ranking officials within the three alien coalition of the UNSC.

What was broadcasted was plain as day.

A declaration of war has been made against them by this Covenant and that this was something marked as a priority-0.

Full mobilization was in effect.

**October 31** **st**

_Reach_

_Fleetcom_

Within a large auditorium, a number of high ranking and known individuals were all filing in.

Members from all walks of the UNSC were in attendance as they had been vaguely briefed as to what it was they were being called in for.

To receive such grave news of a Priority-0 across the board was something to be taken seriously of the highest regard.

Everywhere one would look, they would be able to recognize a number of high profile individuals that have gained a significant reputation or one who holds a high position in their species.

On the human end, nothing short of some of the very best were in attendance.

From some of the Vice-Admirals such as Preston Cole, Gilad Pellaeon, Steven Hackett, Harold Stanforth to high ranking admirals like Jan Dodonna.

There were young Captains and Commanders as well.

David Anderson, James Cutter, Terrence Hood, Richard Wallace and Adar Tallon were among the human side with the UEG president in attendance with the current Fleet Admiral Lord Jon Grissom.

On the side of the Mon Calamari King Yos Kolina, The Head of State of the Mon Cala government and Commander-in-Chief of the Mon Cala military was in attendance along with a litany of other high ranking Mon Cala officials.

Cha Niathal: Fleet Admiral of the Mon Cala Navy, she is in charge of the operational command over all Mon Cala armed forces. Uryta Gill, a male Admiral Mon Calamari who is in charge of the Mercantile Fleet. Two other admirals of the Mon Cala were present being Zo Ryda and Keya Tak.

Of the Vice-Admiral ranks, Gial Ackbar, Grell Raddus and Dol Narlock along with Gral Merai, the Commander of the Mon Cala air force.

General Var Suthra and his retinue of officers rounded out the ground forces of the Mon Cala and Alin Eerin was present, being the head of the Data Seekers of her people.

The Wookies were here in bulk as well with their king, Grakchawwaa present as the representative of Kashyyyk Royal Families.

Tarfful was in attendance as well as the Commander-in-Chief of Kashyyyk's Armed Forces.

Multiple generals had been called in.

Salporin, Tyokka, Harrgun, Merumeru, just to name a few Generals and Lieutenant-Generals.

Even members of the Wookiees within the UNSC navy were here. Vice Admiral Joshk, the highest rank to be achieved in the Navy by a Wookiee seeing as they themselves have stated to be more of a ground oriented species of combatants. With him were two Rear-Admirals named Chiwk and Borr along with a rising up and comer named Grun Whell.

"Order." Fleet Admiral Jon Grissom said aloud. "This meeting is now effectively called into session."

The entire auditorium went silent as Grissom took center stage.

He stood before the large assemblage as a planet was projected before them all.

"Eight months ago, we lost contact with the colony world of Harvest." Grissom said, the audience silent as they listened attentively. "Earlier transmissions displayed UNSC personnel detecting an unidentified ship of unknown origin within the system and had moved to intercept it. From what we have been able to get from our AI on Harvest, this ship belongs to a conglomerate coalition of aliens that call themselves the Covenant."

There were murmurings and whispers between the assembled though Jon went on.

"We had attempted at First-Contact though the initial meetings were hostile. While at first we had thought this to be a vessel perhaps constructed by the Insurrection. The ship was ambushed though they were beaten back with ease. Upon realizing that this was an alien ship with new sentient species, the attack was called off. An attempt was made at proper first-contact meetings but most of those that had met with a group of these new species were killed off. We soon got this message."

A video was played by one of the aliens wearing robes and an elaborate headpiece.

" _Your destruction is the will of the Gods… And we are their instruments."_

The message ended with a very disturbed and troubled audience.

"This Covenant has made their intentions clear. They do not wish to negotiate or make peace with us. Their mass slaughter of the three million colonists on Harvest made that very clear."

A sense of shock with underlying outrage was present amongst all that had gathered, the humans glaring, Wookiees growling and Mon Cala trembling with anger.

So much loss of life in such a sudden instance.

"To put it plainly, from what we have gathered now, the only response we can have is the advent of mobilization and total war." Grissom stated in a grim tone.

Some however weren't as adamant.

"We have enough dealing with the Insurrection."

"Was there truly no alternative to peace?"

"Can we attempt a negotiation with them?"

"Negotiation?! They just wiped out three million civilians with now warning!"

Suddenly, a loud slam was heard from the Wookiee side of the assembly effectively silencing all other conversation. King Grakchawwaa rose from his seat with all eyes turning to the Wookiee king who held a fierce expression.

"GRAAAARR RAAA."

There was a brief silence in the air before many began banging their boots against the ground or the railings in front of them. Upon hearing the Wookiee kings declaration, there really weren't many who had the heart to disagree.

His statement was simple and straightforward.

' _My Decision? War against the Invaders!"_

**November 1st**

Formal declaration of war announced by the UNSC towards the invading alien empire known as the Covenant.

Mobilization of all fleets, battalions, squadrons, legions and such in effect.

News of the Covenant begins to spread throughout the inner colonies.

Conscription now in effect.

Covenant aliens are identified.

San'Shyuum appears to be the overall leader of this empire. Sangheili and the Jiralhanae are the main muscle and strength of the covenant. Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Vorcha, Yanme'e and Geonosians make up the general populace of the Covenant with another set of species called the Huragok and Lekgolo.

In the aftermath of the meeting several promotions were made.

Of note was Cha Niathal being made Supreme Allied Commander of the entirety of the UNSC forces.

Three new Admirals were promoted being Gial Ackbar, Grell Raddus and Preston Cole.

Multiple fleet compositions were underway with every manufacturer upon every colony being sent instructions to begin focusing exclusively on building any and all weapons, vehicles and equipment for the UNSC.

Nothing was off the books.

Especially…

**November 27** **th**

_UNSC Commonwealth_

Within the Paris-Class Frigate, fifty-five augmented super soldiers were either resting, training or for some maintaining their equipment and Ryyk blades.

They were en route to a planet called Chi Ceti where the final phase of the Spartan-II program would be put into effect.

What that would be is up in the air for the time being but they simply awaited their arrival to Chi Ceti.

The only Spartans missing as of right now were 117, 092, 051, 104 and 116.

Everyone else was simply waiting for their arrival at Chi Ceti.

Though they didn't need to say it, there was an underlying tension in the air that was shared between the Spartans.

It had been over a month by this point since they had been informed of this new foe that threatens the UNSC and they had yet to make any move against them.

All that they were made aware of was the mobilization of the UNSC fleet for the most part and how several dozen colonies have been put on high alert. Since then… nothing else other than training regiments as Halsey and Taun have stated they need to become more accustomed to their augmentations.

They said something about their acclimation to be critical for the upcoming phase.

"Hey guys."

Everyone turned to see the five team leaders return.

"Does Project Mjolnir mean anything to you guys?" 117 asked straight away.

"Mjolnir?" Sam repeated. "Sounds kinda familiar."

"That sounds Nordic." Riz-028 brought up. "Randall always talked about it."

"I remember." Will-043 with a snap of his fingers. "Mjolnir is the mystic hammer used exclusively by Thor. He's the only one worthy to wield the hammer."

"You gotta lay off those comics, Will." Anton remarked.

"Never." Will declared plainly.

"So we'll be getting something that only we could use then." Frederic surmised with a thoughtful expression.

Before they were able to discuss this matter further, Captain Wallace of the Commonwealth was heard over the intercom.

" _Attention all hands, we are now exiting Slip-Space."_

The Commonwealth exited Slip-Space though it didn't come alone.

With the Commonwealth was another Paris-Class Frigate called the UNSC Spearhead and a Mon Cala MC40A Light Cruiser Drifting Wave.

It seemed a bit much to be having three frigates/cruisers all travelling in tandem with one another. But war had just been declared.

And after the initial encounter with this new enemy at Harvest, it was better that they travelled in numbers then just one frigate.

" _Spartans."_ They heard the voice of Halsey ringing through the intercom now. _"Make your way down to the hangar bay. Pelicans have been prepped for our arrival."_

"You heard her." Jerome said aloud. "Let's move out."

The large group of enhanced superhumans made their way down to the hangar bay of the ship, spotting Halsey and Taun We waiting for them with the Pelicans that would take them down to Chi Ceti IV.

"Spartans." Halsey greeted. "Climb aboard. It's high time you all find out why you were brought here."

Just as they were approaching the pelicans, the alarms of the Commonwealth began blaring.

Everyone was immediately put on alert, hearing an announcement over the intercom.

" _All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. Unknown contact has just exited Slip-Space."_

Those within the hangar turned around to the exit bay in time to see a large, purple, curved and sleek ship pass in between the Commonwealth and the MC40A Light Cruiser.

"Whoa." 116 muttered below his breath.

" _Doctor Halsey."_ Captain Wallace's voice chimed in through her own comm link. _"I would advise you to not get out there. This ship is only a thousand kilometers and if it sees you exiting the Commonwealth, you'll get shot out into the void."_

"Apologies Captain Wallace but we must get down to the surface." Halsey argued strongly. "Down there is the tipping point we need if we are to survive this battle… and this war."

That… certainly wasn't something the Captain of the Commonwealth was expecting.

Before he had the chance to respond, another Captain in his stead did.

" _This is Captain Gilbi Vrambu of the MC40A Drifting Wave. My Cruiser and UNSC Spearhead will provide cover for you and your Spartans, Doctor Halsey."_ The Mon Cala Captain declared fiercely.

Smiling to herself, Halsey looked to her Spartan-II's.

"You heard him, Spartans. Let's not let their distraction go to waste."

The Spartans quickly piled in and the Pelicans flew off towards their destination.

All the while, the light cruiser and Paris-class Frigate moved in to engage the much larger ship as they fired off archer and concussion missiles.

The covenant vessel however, appeared to have something that the UNSC was sorely lacking.

Energy shields.

It took all the missiles that were sent by the two ships with ease, soon unleashing a torrent of missiles and projectiles of its own.

The ships were struck hard, damage visible with scorch marks and for the UNSC Spearhead, a breach as well.

The Commonwealth, all the while, readjusted its trajectory. Once it aligned itself, the ship's primary weapon began to charge.

The Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. Though there is a long winded, detailed explanation of the function of this weapon most would just simply state the MAC fires a metal slug at high velocity.

The first round smashed itself against the shielding to no avail. Yet the second one.

The second round punched a hole clean through the ship. It remained active and seemed virtually nonplussed by the damage, however it changed its course and moved away from the three ships that surrounded it.

It began firing off multiple missiles to stave off the three ships before it seemingly fled via a Slip-Space portal.

Within the ship, Captain Wallace narrowed his eyes. He looked over to one of the personnel on the bridge of the Commonwealth and the Navy officer nodded.

"Captain Gilbi, Captain Mason, do you have any sign of the enemy ship on your radar?" Wallace asked. "Any slip-space rupture?"

" _Other than the one we just saw, no."_ Gilbi replied.

" _That was instantaneous."_ Captain Mason of the Spearhead stated. _"How'd they do that?"_

" _It appears that their Slip-Space understanding exceeds our own."_ Gilbi noted.

That was an unsettling thought but Wallace had to remain calm.

"Stay on alert." Wallace instructed. "No telling what exactly we're up against."

With the Spartan-II's, their ships neared a landing platform of the Damascus Materials Testing Facility that was stationed upon Chi Ceti IV.

They quickly filed out of the pelicans and followed Taun and Halsey into the facility and were soon standing within a large room.

As the room lit up, Halsey and Taun stood before the Spartan-II's on opposite ends of a hinged door.

Having all Spartans within the room, Halsey held out her hand to the door on the floor.

"This… is Project Mjolnir."

The hinge door opened with a platform rising up from below.

On the platform itself however was a large assortment of what could be defined as armors of some kind, each seemingly bulky yet also slim in design.

They were all identical for the most part, having the same design overall and look with all of the armors having an iridescent green color. The main distinguishing trait that could be visibly seen on the armors were that each one possessed a number on the left hand chest area.

The numbers of each of the Spartans that had been gathered here today.

"Spartans." Taun began in her serene voice. "While you have all made great strides with your augmentations; this is the other half of the equation. This is our force multiplier for all of you."

The augmented superhumans listened attentively as the two doctors began describing the armor and its details.

The armor's outer shell is composed of a multilayer alloy of remarkable strength which has been augmented with a refractive coating capable of dispersing a limited amount of energy weapon impact. Underneath the alloy shell is a thick black armored titanium nanocomposite bodysuit and underneath _that_ was a gel-filled layer. The gel layer regulates temperature reactively changes its density in a few seconds. The inner skinsuit is made of a moisture-absorbing synthetic material linked to an environmental control computer and the occupant's special-issue neural interface.

This network translates electrochemical signals to digital code and routes them through an interface connection at the rear of the skull. Through this interface the user's thoughts commands the armor's movement and weapons and input from the on-board sensors comes directly to the user's mind. The synthesis of machine and mind is so fast that it is almost impossible to chart the reaction time.

Sandwiched between the external armor and the internal padding is the most devastating weapon the suit carries: a layer of polymerized lithium niobocene, a form of reactive metal liquid crystal. Woven by molecular tools into a super-dense layer, this layer is amorphous, yet it amplifies force, doubling lifting capability and increases reaction time by a factor of five.

"So these suits amplify our strength?" Frederic asked in slight astonishment.

"Indeed it does, Frederic." Halsey said with a small smile.

"I think I'm in love…" Sam muttered in open awe, a wide grin appearing on his face.

"Those that have tested the suit realized the system is so reactive that normal human beings cannot use the suit without injuring or even killing themselves." Taun said with a grim tone. "There had been several who had volunteered themselves in testing these suits' capabilities only to have all their bones broken and muscles torn. Only one survived but was unfortunately paralyzed from the experience."

"But you are not normal humans." Halsey stated firmly. "You have all undergone the skeletal, neural and muscular augmentation and should be able to safely operate the suits here."

A silence loomed over the Spartans for a brief moment.

"Now, I will need a volun-"

"I'll do it." 117 stepped forward without a moment of hesitation.

Halsey gave him an expectant look. "I figured you would, John."

John looked back to Blue Team with Sam only nodding his head while Kelly showed a brief flash of concern.

A few minutes later, the rest of the Spartans watched as John was outfitted in this armor with several scientists placing the pieces around him. Each piece was fastened onto the black nano bodysuit.

Once every piece save for the helmet was placed on, everyone waited with bated breath.

"Move very slowly." Taun instructed. "Your body and the suit must adjust to one another."

"The armor cannot be powered down nor the response scaled back." Halsey added with a touch of anxiety in her tone.

Slowly raising his left hand, he cautiously flexed it several times.

"It's shifting." John noted.

"That would be the gel-fill layer adjusting to your body shape." Halsey informed him. "Now, are you ready for your first step?"

Exhaling to steel himself, John silently nodded his head.

Lifting up one leg, 117 took several steps forward appearing to grow more comfortable after every step.

"It's… lighter than I expected."

"That's what we were hoping to hear." Halsey said, looking over to Taun We who held out a helmet for Blue Leader.

Though the standard height of a Kaminoan was usually between 2.2 to 2.4 meters(7'4 to 7'8), Taun stood at an exceptional height of Eight foot Two inches.

A full head taller than John within his new armor.

Yet due to his height increase, Taun didn't need to lower herself in order to place 117's new helmet upon his head to complete the Spartan-II's look.

"Well," Halsey said with an expectant tone. "How do you feel, John?"

After a moment, 117 stood straight with a posture of confidence. "Like I was born to wear this ma'am."

Upon hearing this proclamation, there was a swell of anticipation that permeated among the Spartan-II's as now they wanted to get inside their own set of armor.

Soon enough, every single Spartan was outfitted with their own set of Mjolnir and each one of them felt the difference that their armor provided.

Everything was elevated, their senses, their strength, their speed, dexterity, etc.

The heavy hitters such as Sam, Jorge, Douglas and Will were exercising their strength by punching through rock after a series of well-timed strikes.

Kelly, along with Riz, Caleb, Jerome and Alice found themselves running faster and faster upon treadmills with them not breaking a sweat.

To say that the results of their fusion with the Mjolnir armor was what Halsey had envisioned was an understatement. Most were already outperforming their original predictions.

However, this showcase came to an end when Captain Wallace contacted Halsey.

" _Doctor Halsey."_ The man sounded rather strained. _"The Covenant ship is retreating but it's hammered us hard. If we stay here any longer, Spearhead is gonna get destroyed and I know the Commonwealth will follow shortly after."_

"Ma'am." John stepped forward. "Let us take a shot. We're the best possible option, you're _only_ option right now. We're ready. And you know it."

Halsey hesitated briefly. "Godspeed John."

The Spartans knew that the usual guns blazing tactic would not work.

They'd have to use a different approach.

Scalpels, as they were once referred to as. Surgical soldiers that could decimate forces from within.

This was to be their first engagement, so the Spartan-II's would go out swinging.

Blue Team and Red team would serve as the infiltrators.

However, upon getting readouts from the ships that had brought them here they noted that the shields, while up, needed to disperse to a degree to allow turrets and missiles to be fired out.

That's where Silver Team comes in.

Daniel, Yumi, Joyner and Nicole would serve as distractions for the Covenant while the two infiltration teams would get into the enemy ship.

And how would they be doing this?

"Oh… my God." 116 said with complete and utter joy.

Within a separate hangar bay of the Damascus facility were a dozen brand new starfighters that the UNSC had just put into service last year.

The beautiful RZ-1 A-Wing Interceptor.

"Oh boy." Joyner remarked in complete amusement. "Here we go again."

"I'm glad you like it, Daniel." Halsey said with a sly smile. "These ships are tailor made for speed and can work in tandem with your suit for performance enhancement within space. The A-Wing has an experimental countermeasure system that can be useful for this engagement. The Miradyne 4X-Phantom short-range sensor jammer."

By this point, Silver leader and even the rest of his team were itching to get into these new ships.

"Oh my God, get a room already." Sam said with a wry tone, chuckling a moment later at the giddy nature 116 displayed upon plopping himself down into one of the A-wings.

The starfighter was armed with Two M1024 ASW/AC 30mm MLA cannons and twelve sets of concussion missiles that 116 knew he had to use wisely.

Yumi, Nicole and Joyner soon entered their own A-wings whilst Blue and Red Team entered into a Pelican for themselves.

A moment later, all five spacecraft were in the air and flying up past the planet's surface and into space.

Upon exiting Chi Ceti's atmosphere, the ships were greeted to the sight of three UNSC ships way away from the Covenant Vessel.

"All I'm saying is you could have had Green and Silver team handle this." Sam-034 remarked from the co-pilot seat of the pelican.

"You guys are kinda in the way." Yumi said from her A-wing.

"Do you want me to turn this ship around?" 117 asked Sam in a jokingly reprimanding manner. "Pretty sure Red Team wouldn't like that."

There was a small chuckle shared between the ten Spartans before they got much more serious.

"So how are we doing this, John?" Jerome asked straight away.

"We can't brute force these guys with what we have right now." John stated. "So we'll need a more steady and precise hand."

"Scalpels." 092 stated getting a nod out of Blue Leader.

"Right." John said. "They'd be on full alert if three large frigates would be coming in from all sides. But I figure with four smaller ships, they wouldn't take us as seriously…"

"But would be distracted enough for us to get into their ship unnoticed." Jerome finished with John nodding at Red Leader.

"You'll get your entry, guys." Daniel-116 chimed in from his A-wing. "These Covenant bastards won't know what hit 'em."

"One question." Sam spoke up. "How exactly are we gonna take out that ship?"

"So glad you asked, Sam." John remarked, walking to the back end of the ship to a panel and compartment. Inputting a command code, a cylindrical item popped out with a red tip that John grabbed and held out to 034. "You're favorite, courtesy of the Commonwealth."

"Oh this day just keeps getting better." Sam declared with a wide grin beneath his helmet.

"Why'd you have to go and give him that, John?" Kelly asked in amusement.

"Now he'll never let go." Douglas-042 joked.

"Oh please." Sam retorted with an equally entertained tone. "You guys are just as gung-ho as we are."

"Guilty." Alice-130 said without hesitation.

"Now if Grace were here…" Sam left the question hanging, knowing that when it came down to explosive 093 was unmatched.

"We're coming up on the enemy ship." Daniel-116 said through the comms. "Moving to engage in 10."

"You heard Silver." Jerome stood from his seat. "Let's get ready."

"We're only going to have one chance at this." John stated. "We may not get another opportunity."

"Which means we won't mess up." Sam declared, thumping his fist against John's shoulder in an assuring manner.

"We better not." 087 said aloud. "Pelicans on autopilot now."

The six Spartans armed themselves as they stood at the back of the Pelican, Blue Team up front Red team behind them.

"We're going in." Daniel announced.

Out in the void of space, four A-wings zoomed past the pelican with their trajectory in line for the Covenant ship.

Several moments later, missiles and other projectiles were launched in response to the oncoming starfighters.

The four starfighters broke formation and effectively avoided the missiles with lightning speed.

116 and 124 pushed their thrusters forward, increasing the speed of their A-wings.

They got in close to the ship, skimming along its hull.

"Turrets." 116 pointed out.

"I see 'em." Yumi said, firing a pair of Concussive missiles.

The two projectiles struck the turrets, heavily damaging them though it appeared not to take them out of commission.

This was quickly rectified by Daniel utilizing his own pair of Concussive missiles, this time destroying them.

Joyner and Nicole zipped by, firing rapidly at the Covenant ship with multiple turrets facing the direction of the small fighters that were flying rings around the ship's defenses.

Within the Pelican, the two Spartan teams saw their chance and propelled themselves straight out of their own ship and into the void.

They drifted forward, unperturbed by the zero-gravity they found themselves in.

All that mattered was getting to the ship.

Their suits had built in thrusters, allowing them to manage their acceleration as they drew closer and closer to the covenant ship.

Silver Team was zipping back and forth, managing to shoot down several turrets with strafing runs. The ship was much more durable then it initially appeared. Still, the fact that the ship was taking damage from their own showed it wasn't as indestructible as it appeared to be.

That and the gaping hole made by the MAC round also proves that theory.

Red Team soon diverted themselves away from Blue Team, going for the bottom entry of the hole made by the MAC round. The shield was in constant fluctuation due to Silver Team which meant that there were multiple openings for the two teams.

Thanks to Silver, Blue and Red face little to no defensive fire from the ship with all six entering inside the Covenant ship with no issue.

John, Sam and Kelly touched down into the ship of the Covenant within a corridor, all three immediately entering into a three-way back-to-back formation with their weapons raised.

"Clear." Sam said.

"Clear." John stated, with the trio momentarily relaxing though still remaining wary and tense.

"Red Team, come in."

092 responded a moment later. _"This is Jerome. All Spartans accounted for. What's your status?"_

"Probably the same as yours." Sam remarked. "In an alien ship of unknown origin and design."

"Very funny." John said with a shake of his head. "Keep contact to a minimum. Radio in only for intel and position."

Blue team got a green blinker within their Heads Up Displays from their helmets, signifying Red team got the message.

Sam and John walked forward, Kelly covering the rear as she kept an eye on anything that may sneak up on them from behind.

"We can't be walking around in an alien ship blind." Sam commented.

"Hard to say what we can do." Kelly stated. "I've got radiation readings coming from all over the ship. But the biggest one to note is coming from the ship's center."

"Could be the ship's reactor." John surmised with both his partners agreeing.

They were nearing a branching hallway and from their readings being shown to them via their HUD, that was the direction of the largest source of the energy reading. The ship momentarily shook, the sound of defensive fire being heard.

"Looks like Silver Team is still playing out there." Sam remarked.

"Then we better get moving." John said, now facing the hallway. "Sam, take point. Kelly, you'll be in the middle and I'll bring up the rear."

Getting into formation, Blue team walked down the rather claustrophobic hallway until coming before a door.

Sam and John turned their backs to Kelly, making sure to keep her covered whilst she gazed at the door before looking to the sides.

Finding a holographic panel, she stood before it and cautiously raised her hand up and pressed it against the panel.

A moment later, the door opened for the team, allowing them to continue forward.

Suddenly, they heard soft pattering on the floor and out in front of them walked a short stubby bipedal alien that certainly was not one they were accustomed to.

There was an awkward silence for the briefest of moments until the alien let out a panicked cry of fear and grabbed a sidearm.

It only managed two shots of whatever that energy substance was before it was gunned down by Blue Team.

"So they're not bulletproof." John said. "Good to know."

"Think we should've tried communicating with it?" Kelly inquired.

Sam scoffed. "This one understood us just fine."

John walked up to the dead alien and picked up the sidearm that it used, examining it a few seconds before placing it on his thigh. Looks like they can be magnetically attached to their armor.

Convenient.

"Red Team, what's your status?" John asked through the comms. "We just took out an enemy."

" _Similar on our end."_ Jerome responded.

Over with Red Team, they were examining the corpses of two winged aliens that were lanky in appearance with a slightly insectoid look to them.

" _What'd you encounter?"_ John asked with Douglas grabbing one of the insect-like aliens.

"These guys have wings." Douglas noted. "Big ones, big enough for flight."

"They look insect-like in nature." Alice-130 noted, prodding the tip of her DMR against the other dead alien.

" _So~ flying bugs?"_ Sam said. _"Anyone bring any pesticide?"_

"Very funny, Sam." Jerome said. "We're on our way towards a large radiation reading that seems to be at the center of this ship."

Over with Blue Team, they rounded about a corner to spot no enemy forces.

"That's where we're headed." John stated. "We'll rendezvous there and plant our little present before baling out of here."

" _Agreed, see you there Blue Team."_

The comms went silent, Blue Team continuing their traverse through the ship.

Eventually they entered a room that was a bit to… foggy for their liking.

The three were instantly on alert as they felt their enhanced senses register heavy footsteps.

John's left eyes twitched for a moment before squinting as he saw an unusual shimmer in the air that seemed to be a shape of some kind.

Raising his rifle, Kelly and Sam followed suit a moment later with all three pointing at the now more noticeable shimmer that faded to reveal them to an armored alien.

The alien was physically imposing, standing slightly taller than them. It appeared vaguely reptilian in its overall appearance, with visible leathery skin, reverse-jointed legs and sharp claws and teeth. Its large hands have two fingers and two thumbs.

Yet the most distinguishing trait was the jaw structure, made up of four separate mandibles that seemed to be its mouth.

It growled challengingly at the Spartan-II's and whipped out its right hand. A two pronged energy sword burst out from a now noticeable silvery hilt held in its hand. In the other hand was the weapon John had recovered from the smaller alien from before.

The alien roared aloud, running towards them in a full sprint with Blue Team unloading their bullets upon the alien.

Blue Team instantly took note of the bluish shimmers that appeared to surround the alien, seemingly absorbing all the bullets. However, this shield that surrounded their enemy appeared to burst after several more well placed shots.

Suddenly, the alien shot off one of those energy bolts from its other weapon.

"JOHN!" Sam cried out, shoving his friend to the side when the energy bolt struck the Spartan-II.

Sam however wasn't out of the fight.

Twirling down to his knee, he pulled out his Ryyk blade which was the size of his forearm.

The alien gazed upon the Spartan-II and for a moment paused before it growled with what appeared to be an accepting challenge.

It swung its energy sword several times at Sam with 034 ducking and dodging each one until he foolishly tried parrying the aliens blade with his own.

Though it seemed to hold it off, when Sam held up his Ryyk Blade he gasped in abject horror.

The tip of his blade was chipped off!

"Dammit." Sam exclaimed. "I just had this damn thing polished."

In a stunning display of speed, Sam lunged forward at the alien, catching it off guard and plunged his chipped Ryyk Blade right into the aliens neck.

It gurgled out in shock yet strangely, acceptance as it fell to the floor, dead.

"Sam, are you alright?" Kelly asked in concern.

"No Kelly, no I am _not."_ Sam grumbled holding up his Ryyk blade. "I made this with my bare hands on Kashyyyk and because of this bastard here, it's ruined."

"Your suit seems alright." Kelly noted, patting the scorched shoulder pad of his armor. "No breaches or anything. Must have been a graze.

"Sam, what you did back there was stupid." John said aloud in slight anger. "What if you got hit somewhere else?"

"Come on John, like you wouldn't have done the same for me." Sam said with a knowing tone. "Least it wasn't the chest like before."

John knew he couldn't really dispute that statement, a phantom feeling appearing over his chest where he had been shot a few months earlier.

"Keep it to a minimum then." John groused out, elbowing his brother half-heartedly. "We can't lose our sense of humor you know."

"You have Will and Douglas for that." Sam countered, the trio resuming their pace through the ship. "Hell, I'm pretty sure Kurt has a booklet of his own material with how he acts."

"Alright you two, enough of that." Kelly said good naturedly, an underlying tone of relief knowing that Sam was alright.

Eventually, Blue team arrived at what appeared to be the center of the ship.

The radiation that they had been following all came from here directly.

"This is it right here." Kelly said determinedly.

"Where's Jerome and the others?" Sam asked aloud.

John immediately contacted them. "Red Team, this is Blue Leader. Do you copy?"

What they heard on Red Teams side of the comms was gunfire and aliens shouting.

And from where they stood, it wasn't too far.

" _John_. _"_ Jerome was heard, grunting as there was an unrecognized sound of panic from what must have been one of the aliens on the ship. There was a sickening crunch followed by a breath of relief.

" _Start prepping the bomb. We'll link up with you in a moment."_

John only looked over to 034. "Sam."

"Got-"

"I'll go." Kelly declared. "I'll get there faster than you two."

The two knew better than to argue with Kelly because every Spartan was well aware of her being the absolute fastest Spartan out of them all, both pre-augmentation and post-augmentation.

Kelly dashed forward in the direction of gunfire with John moving to prep the nuclear bomb with Sam keeping watch.

087 rounded about a corner and instantly ducked as the body of a bird-like alien sailed overhead.

"Oops, sorry Kelly." Douglas said sheepishly, another one of those aliens he just threw in his hands.

"Behind you!" Kelly cried out with 042 dropping down as more of those energy projectiles were fired at him.

087 switched from her shotgun to her pistol and fired a clean headshot at an insectoid alien.

Over with John and Sam, the bomb had been armed.

"How long do we have?" Sam asked.

"Two minutes." John declared. "We're gonna make a run for it out of here."

"What are we waiting for?" Sam asked.

"Jerome." John said, with he and Sam beginning to run out from the room with the bomb. "The bomb has been armed. We got two minutes to get the hell out of here before this whole place blows."

Red Team with Kelly had just finished taking out the small force of aliens that had hindered them from getting to the ships reactor.

They looked up in time to see John and Sam come around the same corner Kelly had come from.

"Go!" John yelled out with all six Spartans now breaking into a sprint.

They ran as fast as they could and soon saw the hole of the MAC round that Red team had used to enter the ship.

Getting to the hole, the Spartans leapt out of the ship into open space with one of Silver Teams A-wings swooping by.

"Daniel, you're still fighting out here?" Alice asked, slightly incredulous.

"They've barely touched us." 116 declared, performing an axle spin to confuse two missiles pursuing him into ramming into each other.

"Then can you guys give us a ride?" Sam asked. "The nuke is primed and ready."

Spartan taxi service coming right up." Joyner remarked, pivoting her ship around with the other three A-wings doing the same.

They flew at high speeds towards their Spartan brethren, slowing down for just enough of a moment for the six of them to grasp onto the wings of the ship.

All four then throttled their thrusters at full power and flew away from the ship at full speed.

A minute later…

_***BBBVVVVVVOOOOOOO*** _

The Covenant ship that was strong enough to take on three UNSC ships with ease was good and destroyed.

Within the three ships of the UNSC, the crew saw this and began cheering aloud in victory.

Down below on Chi Ceti, Halsey, Taun and the rest of the Spartan-II's stood on a landing platform gazing up at the skies.

The moment they saw the large explosion followed by the confirmation of the Covenant ship being destroyed with the Spartans accounted for, the Spartan-II's let out cheers of their own.

Taun smiled serenely with Halsey letting out a shaky breath of relief.

"They did it." Halsey said below her breath.

This was their first victory.

Harvest may have been their first loss but this day here just proved that this new threat wasn't invincible.

They can be fought and can be beaten.

But what would it take for them to be beaten back entirely remained the unasked nor unanswered question.

The Spartan-II's performed beyond their initial believed capabilities.

With this victory here, Halsey was absolutely certain now of Humanity's future and the UNSC's future overall to be secured.

If only she was to be made aware of the blood that would be paid for such security.

All the while, as war was ramping up on this end of the galaxy…

On the other side…

_Citadel_

_Biotic Sages Academy._

Ahsoka Tano, proud little Togruta that she tended to be found herself flat on her back staring straight up at the ceiling.

Groaning, she sat up in time to see her friend Mission Vao be flung to the side. The blue Twi'lek fell on her side and slumped over on her back.

"Come on Master Plo, can't you lighten up just a bit?" Ahsoka asked with a slight whine.

Their Kel-Dor teacher straightened out his posture and couldn't help but release a small chuckle.

"Apologies, little 'Soka." the Kel-Dor master sage said as he walked over to his pupil and helped her to her feet. "But you will never learn proper defenses in that manner."

"But I thought we were learning about Biotics." Ahsoka said with a huff.

Though she couldn't see it due to the mask and goggles, she could feel the amusement radiating from her teacher.

He went over to Mission who sat up with her hands upon her dazed head.

"Being naturally Biotic doesn't mean that you should allow your own physical body to be as weak." Plo said, kneeling down to assist Vao up to her feet. "The two work in tandem. When both mind, body and soul are in harmony, in balance with each other, your capabilities will grow beyond the limits that you yourself believe to be capable of."

Ahsoka wanted to argue but when it came down to it, Plo was a master at Biotics.

While the TTAZ species were all natural born Biotics, the Kel-Dor have proven to have a much deeper and nuanced understanding of Biotics that no other species could comprehend.

They were able to create and conduct astonishing abilities with their biotics as well as spot those who have a wholly unique ability to themselves. Such as Plo Koon's astonishing ability to manipulate his Biotic fields in a manner wherein the vibration that he conducts within the Biotics creates the visual sensation of lighting.

A true master of his craft.

Since they had become a part of galactic society, many students have risen to prominence all thanks to the teachings of the Kel-Dor sages.

Biotic meditation, repulse, lightning, bonding, enhancement and even more stunning and unheard of abilities such as healing and stealth or concealment.

These abilities were truly astonishing yet an extremely select few were able to even scratch the surface of these powers.

Plo Koon firmly believes that both Mission and Ahsoka were two who had the potential to bring out their latent talent for Biotics and tap into one of these extraordinary Biotic powers.

"You two both have a long journey ahead of you." Plo said, having the two standing side by side while having a hand upon one of their shoulders. "But in time, I know you both will accomplish great things. Not just with biotics."

"Easier said than done." Mission remarked with puffed out cheeks.

"Come now." Plo said, patting Vao's head. "What happened to all that confidence? Stating the next time you'd see your friend… what was her name again? Liara, correct?"

They both nodded.

"The next time you'd see Liara that you'd show off all the amazing tricks that you learned from your master."

The two young girls(young being somewhat loose here considering their decades old) had their heads hung low until they looked up at their teacher with fierce expressions.

"You're right!" Vao said with a determined exclamation. "We won't fail here."

"Yeah." Ahsoka threw her hand up. "Liara expects us to be masters and we expect Liara to make the find of the century."

Plo nodded his head approvingly. "Then come along you two. Once more."

Both got into their stances and charged at their Kel-Dor master.

Elsewhere, within Citadel space, one Liara T'soni wiped sweat away from her forehead after exiting the cave of an excavation site.

Though she was but a novice in this field, she was taking everything that was being shown to her in stride.

Her mentors had been showing her the basics with them having a more hands on approach rather than just having her stand behind them while they dig up archaeological finds.

Right now though, lunch was in order.

Most of the excavation team was present as all began to seat themselves down to eat and chatter amongst one another.

Liara sat between a Salarian and Twi'lek.

Opposite to her was a Duros, Asari, Kel-Dor and on the far end of the table, a Turian, Asari, Togrutan, Twi'lek and another Salarian.

"Whew." The Asari in front of Liara let out a tired sigh. "I'm glad what we found but did it have to be in such an enclosed space. Why couldn't it be in the middle of an open field."

"Ah it ain't that bad." The Duros Archaeologist said with a shrug, drinking his beverage. "I've dealt with worse."

"What's worse?" The Asari asked with a flat look upon her face.

"My buddy and I," The Duros gestured to the Turian over on the far end of the table who was conversing with the other Salarian. "Had one place next to an active volcano. That place was scorching hot."

The conversation between them all was all over the place.

Some spoke of the excavation, the significance of it, what it might hold and if it has any connection to the Protheans.

Others spoke on casual matters, life stories and such.

One however had a datapad in his hands and was mumbling constantly under his breath with his eyes darting back and forth on what he was analyzing.

"Wuran?" a female voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm? Hmm?" Wuran the Salarian looked up from his datapad and over to one concerned Liara T'soni.

"Yes Liara?"

"Are you alright?" The Asari asked. "You seemed troubled."

"Troubled? Troubled? No, no, apologies for making you believe so. Merely curious and intrigued." Wuran clarified his current state of mind.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Liara asked with interest.

"Data coming in from energy readings." Wuran stated. "Personal hobby. Multiple facilities and stations throughout Citadel space that monitor many things within our galaxy. Energy readings always been a fascination with me. Gamma, nuclear, Eezo and such."

Liara wasn't as versed, if at all really, with energy readings but Wuran's excitement was slightly infectious.

"Did you find something of interest then?"

"Yes, yes, very much so." Wuran nodded vigorously. "Salarian station with relative on it sent me these today."

He showed Liara a series of charts and graphs that she didn't quite understand. All that she was able to tell really, if she were to make an educated guess was that for the most part, all the graphs and charts displayed steady energy signatures.

All but the last one.

This one was… well, all over the place if that's how she would describe it.

"What is it exactly?" Liara asked.

"Unknown." Wuran answered with an excited grin. "Unknown energy signature perhaps means unknown life. This was detected outside of Council space. Outside known relay territory. Know what this means?"

Liara frowned in thought.

Unknown life?

The last few times the council had dealt with new life has positives and negatives in successive order.

The Rachni led to the Krogan which in turn led to the Turians and Kel-Dor followed by the Quarians who inadvertently unleashed the Geth having their embassy banned(which many had mixed feelings on) and lastly was the Yahg.

It hasn't been smooth sailing in the expansion across the stars though none expected there to be.

They hadn't done much in the realm of expansion since the Yahg and that was several decades ago by now.

However, there have been rumblings going around about the idea of going into the great unknown once again even though the Yahg incident was only four decades ago by this time. Many believe firmly that the rest of the galaxy with other life, perhaps more friendlier life, was waiting to be met and join galactic society.

There's also the advent of resources.

While many have projected the use of Eezo along with many other resources not running out any time soon, they are still a growing society. They need to expand.

Species such as the Duros were anxious to get out there once more, naturally inclined with their love of exploration and space travel.

Others like the Turians and Kel-Dor expressed equal interest, same as the Salarians and some of the TTAZ as well.

Growing more interested as she thought many of these details over in her head, Liara propped her elbows against the table and leaned over to Wuran.

"What can you tell me about these energy readings?" Liara asked, Wuran's grin growing.

"Recent finds." Wuran stated. "Fringes of Turian, Kel-Dor and Salarian space primarily, these energy readings match little to no other from what we understand. Perhaps something but we have yet to find it. Only been studied for two decades and readings becoming more frequent as time goes on."

"How frequent?" The Duros opposite to the two overhearing this conversation now piped in with intrigue.

"First time detected in 2146." Wuran explained. "At first, many believed to be an anomaly. Spacial event of unknown origin or understanding. Next year, several more similar readings fluctuate on energy output but many correlations found. Year after, doubled and these readings have only increased overtime. This year, most we have ever recorded."

"So do you all have any ideas on what it is?" Liara asked.

"Many theories, many guesses, though no conclusive answers as of yet." Wuran admitted. "But, stirrings within multiple fields who have been shown these readings expressing desires to go out to find the answer for themselves."

The Duros hummed aloud with a thoughtful expression. "Sounds like fun. I wouldn't mind going on an expedition into the unknown."

"Many variables. Many choices and possibilities." Wuran rattled off in his species' usual rapid speech. "But certain Relays that could lead us out there are being scouted now. Believe that they be the key to getting to the source of these energy readings directly."

"Relays have been scouted?" The Kel-Dor of the group asked inquisitively.

"Areas and locations believed to hold relays on the other side, yes." Wuran confirmed. "Some designated already. 343, 314, 791, 616 and so on."

"Really?" Now the Twi'lek showed interest. "You got the go ahead to reveal such information to us?"

"Merely hypothetical in nature." Wuran said. "Until confirmation needed, all baseless speculation until then."

Until then…

Those two words hung in the air, especially over Liara.

She couldn't help but now be pulled into this idea of going out and exploring the unknown corners of the galaxy.

The mystery was tantalizingly close and yet so far by the manner in which Wuran described it to be.

She was pretty satisfied with what she was doing right now.

Still, the idea of going out to meet other new intelligent life was not something she'd pass up on. Socially awkward as she may be.

For now though, she was happy with where she was.

If whatever it was that was out there would eventually make its way over to here, she'd hope they'd be a friendly people open to the idea of exchanging culture, ideas and technology.

Or maybe they could do that instead.

Who knows? The galaxy was a large place after all.

**And done folks, that's another chapter in the books.**

**The start of the Covenant war while the Citadel species continue their blissful ignorance as another part of the galaxy is ramping up for a long and bloody war.**

**First things first.**

**It's the start of the war so BSX and I have listed out a LOT of crap for you guys to have to understand the standing of the UNSC.**

**BSX: All I gotta say is thank you for the continuing support and work really hard on researching some aspects that you'll see in a moment as you continue to scroll down.**

**UNSC Ships at the start of the war.**

**Marathon-class heavy cruiser**

**Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser**

**Mako-class corvette**

**Prowler class**

**Stalwart-class light frigate**

**Charon-class light frigate**

**Paris-class heavy frigate**

**Halberd-class destroyer**

**Hillsborough-class destroyer**

**Diligence-class destroyer**

**UNSC heavy destroyer**

**Punic-Class Supercarrier**

**Orion-Class Assault Carrier**

**Epoch-Class Heavy Carrier**

**Mon Cala**

**MC80 Home One Star Cruiser**

**MC80 Liberty type Star Cruiser**

**MC80 Evacuation Cruiser**

**MC80b Star Cruiser**

**MC75 Star Cruiser**

**Recusant-class light destroyer**

**MC140 Scythe-class main battle cruiser**

**MC30c frigate**

**ShaShore-class frigate**

**MC40a light cruiser**

**Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (stocky)**

**Wookiee**

**Valor-class cruiser**

**Kumauri Battleship**

**United iNtergalactic Space Command Joint ships.**

**MC90 Heavy Class Star Cruiser**

**UNSC Hammer head**

**FMW: Yeah, we really wanted to make sure you guys get a full picture idea of the strength that the UNSC has at their disposal. While the war is gonna be insane as it was in Halo itself, the Covenant is gonna find a much more fierce and determined foe then they had faced within the original Halo Canon. Bullet, kindly tell our good readers the number of warships the UNSC has at their disposal.**

**BSX: As of right, the UNSC has about 6067 ships at their disposal. It was hard to determine what Fleet strength pre-war the UNSC had in canon but I have estimated and used the canon number to double with Humanity's allies such as Mon Cala and Wookiee.**

**FMW: Yeah, we're not gonna be playing on the low end. The battles BSX and I have planned out are gargantuan in scope and size. Befitting that of sci-fi franchises like Halo, Mass Effect and Star Wars.**

**And to cap it all off...**

**Here you guys go. All 55 Augmented Spartan-II's painstakingly numbered to be sure.**

**This list took fucking forever cause I lost track a few times but here we all are. And to some of you more aficionados in Halo, AU folks. Differences abound.**

**1\. James-005 2. Jai-006 3. Li-008 4. Naomi-010 5. Leon-011 6. Kirk-018 7. Daisy-023**

**8\. Robert-025 9. Riz-028 10. Joshua-029 11. vinh-030 12. Otto-031 13. Sam-034**

**14\. Isaac-039 15. Douglas-042 16. William-043 17. Anton-044 18. Keichi-047 19. Kurt-051**

**20\. Jorge-052 21. Margaret-053 22. Linda-058 23. Malcolm-059 24. Maria 25. Sheila-065**

**26\. Soren-066 27. Solomon-069 28. Cassandra-075 29. Arthur-079 30. René-081**

**31\. Fhajad-084 32. Kelly-087 33. Jerome-09 34. Grace-093 35. Caleb-095 36. Musa-096**

**37\. August-099 38. Victor-101 39. Ralph-103 40. Fred-104 41. Adriana-111 42. John-117**

**43\. Mike-120 44. Joseph-122 45. Kai-125 46. Oscar-129 47. Alice-130 48. Vannak-134**

**49\. Carris-137 50. Cal-141 51. Roma-143 52. Nicole-121 53. Yumi-124 54. Daniel-116**

**55\. Joyner-118**

**So there you guys, we have the UNSC corner established.**

**Next time, we'll meet up with the Citadel side of things.**

**Until next time.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	7. Ignorance is Bliss

**Thanks for all the reviews and feedback guys. And woops. Meant to put down Maria-062. There.**

**So we have our ships, we have our current crop of Spartans and we have the UNSC.**

**But lest we forget, they are not the only faction in this galaxy.**

**When I say I am just jittery with excitement, I'm underselling it. I cannot put it in words as to just** _**how** _ **long I've wanted to write this particular crossover. In terms of a timeline, it's close to around 8 years by this point. Yeah, it's been that long.**

**Anywho, let's not lollygag any longer around here.**

**On to the show.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 7: Ignorance is Bliss

Their crusade is upon them.

The war of salvation has begun.

The Covenant shall burn the heretics for their blasphemous actions against their holy figures and they shall know damnation.

The Great Journey, their path to Godhood. This is one of their many steps as the Noble Hierarchs have marked this new age as the Age of Reclamation.

They would know the folly and transgression for their heresy and see the light of the Covenant reign down holy righteousness upon them all.

Our time has come to truly prove ourselves worthy of the Great Journey.

These _humans_ shall know only death and suffering.

Those that have allied with them, the Wookiees and Mon Calamari will suffer the same fate. Heresy will only lead to their own damnation upon this mortal plane.

We are the right arm and eternal swords of the Covenant.

We shall uphold our oaths and writ and purge this galaxy of any who prove to be blasphemous.

As is our way.

Upon the planet of Sanghelios, multiple clans with their thousands of members and retainers outfitted themselves for war.

Our holy crusade has begun.

Plasma swords were ignited all being raised above their heads as war cries reverberated across the planet of their culture, ancestors and people.

The Age of Reclamation has begun.

**2526/2170**

_Citadel_

_Council chambers._

She was alone for the most part.

She knew her fellow council members and colleagues were outside the room or in other parts of the Citadel Tower.

Frankly, she was glad she could have some time to herself.

Politics… are draining to a maddening degree at times.

This council meeting wasn't really all that important in hindsight, it's just the chore of it that can get to one.

Tevos may be a few centuries old by this point, passing the seven hundred mark a decade ago but politics have the innate ability of rearing its head and reminding her about how trivial certain things are.

Honestly, Sparatus is as stubborn as they come for a Turian. Bull-headed, cocky, and prideful of his heritage.

They were discussing simple matters.

About resource management.

Yes it's important but for Goddess sake, it was for the Eezo mines that the Volus managed that they had decided upon years ago.

Why must certain Turians be so stubborn?

Sparatus was only balanced out by the Kel-Dorian Councilor Gnost-Dural. A consummate student of history, Dural was always one to use history first and foremost as the basis of his decisions. He's also a skilled Biotic user to the degree of a sage. And a dear friend of hers.

"What's on your mind?" asked a familiar female voice.

Tevos lifted her head up to gaze upon her other close friend in the council and someone she has known for nearly 400 years by this point.

Her skin was blood red and her montrals were marked with white markings and grey stripes. Eyes the color of a dark grayish blue, rather than the usual council clothes that most would wear, this Togruta was garbed in the brown robes of the Kel-Dor sages.

Shaak-Ti was someone that Tevos had relied upon for centuries by this point, one of the closest friends she has ever had.

Calm, quiet and reflective, Shaak-Ti was sharp with her skills as she was with her mind, wit and words.

Formerly a TTAZ ranger, she eventually became a respected politician earning the title of councilor after a hundred years.

The day that happened, Tevos had never felt more relieved.

Not to say that Ti was biased.

Her time as a ranger and tutelage under the Kel-Dor Sages have made her a well-rounded and naturally open minded individual that soaks in knowledge like a sponge and tries her hardest so that all sides could come to a unanimous compromise.

"Shaak-Ti." Tevos greeted kindly. "Apologies. I did not see or hear you come in."

"I don't blame you. It appears much is troubling you." Ti pointed out.

"Not so much trouble." Tevos admitted, leaning back into her seat. "More… just tired. Today's meeting felt… uneventful to say the least."

"Perhaps." Ti nodded, going over to an empty seat next to her and sitting down. "Or maybe we are just trying to find out what to argue about next."

"There seems to be plenty of it." Tevos remarked.

"But for what exactly?" Shaak-Ti inquired. "Much has not occurred since the Yahg incident."

Tevos couldn't help but shift about in her chair in an uncomfortable manner.

It had only been over forty years by this point but the memory was still quite fresh in the eyes for a species that can live past a thousand years.

All those ambassadors she had sent to their deaths.

Her friends and fellow council members have stated before that the fault was all their own.

But in Tevos' mind, she was the one who initiated the meeting. She helped in choosing who to send to meet with the Yahg.

And none returned.

Though the entire council at the time took the blame upon themselves, Tevos always kept that mistake to herself.

Never again.

"I do not know by this point, Shaak-Ti." Tevos said after a moment of silence. "I feel as though we're not looking for reasons, we're looking for excuses. Excuses to argue and complain. I understand that the galaxy is constantly in motion but for once I feel we are at a standstill."

"There is the expedition team we had sent out recently." Shaak-Ti brought up.

"Ah yes." Tevos nodded. "And what of them? Have they found something galaxy shattering?"

The Togrutan Councilor only chuckled aloud. "I never pegged you for one who has an interest in history Tevos. Even after all these centuries. Gnost-Dural would love this conversation right about now."

"I can enjoy history." Tevos argued jokingly. "Have you not forgotten all the classes one must take?"

Shaak-Ti smiled at her friend. "Perhaps an escort can join the expedition. We can bring that up for our next meeting."

"A defense fleet for an expedition?" Tevos muttered. "That would seem like an unnecessary waste of military resources."

Her friend chortled. "You sound like a Turian now."

"Being around so many Turian councilors after so many years, you pick up a thing or two from them." Tevos remarked in a wry tone.

"Clearly." Shaak-Ti conceded. "Still perhaps it would be necessary. Our recent expedition force was sent out on the fringes of secure Citadel space. There's many dangers to be presented there."

Tevos crossed her arms in thought, mulling over Ti's words. There was merit to them so to speak.

The outer borders of the Citadel space is tenuously protected at best with many bounty hunters, raiders and pirates that tended to patrol that area with their fair share of smugglers.

"Maybe." Tevos considered it. "Have they found anything of note?"

Shaak-Ti held up her arm, bringing out her Omni-Tool as she began going over the recent findings that she had received.

"They have found the ruins of a structure that is not Prothean."

"Not Prothean?" Tevos said in slight surprise. "What did they find?"

"What is found on a few other planets. The structures of those that preceded the Protheans." Shaak-Ti stated making Tevos frown.

Those that preceded the Protheans or simply, the Predecessors as they are called by most of the Citadel species. Those structures and what many assume to be their technology has been found on a litany of worlds.

The most profound thing about them was their locations being upon the homeworld of nearly every species within the Citadel species save for a select few such as the Quarians and the Krogan. They have been studied for centuries yet somehow; nothing could be uncovered about them.

Many had figured this to be technology of some kind which means it could perhaps be reactivated. Others figured it to be a waste of time, especially after the advancement of many races via the Mass Relays.

Over time there were some attempts at research and trying to understand just what these unusual predecessor structures were but nothing came out.

Or… that's how it seemed to be.

When one would look over the files and findings of the structures, there was an unusual dismissive tone about them. How they are deemed inept and useless with nothing that can serve the greater galactic community.

Yet there were those who persevered and after centuries of study, managed to decipher the true name of the ones that had constructed these large structures.

The Forerunners.

The species that came before the Protheans.

Who or what they were had remained a mystery for thousands of years by this point to the races under the Citadel.

They really didn't see a point to studying them as much as there were the occasional few that advocated that they should put time into truly investigating just what these structures were.

It just never came around and there was a strange growing consensus as to why that is.

There was one _extremely_ radical Salarian who with a Kel-Dor and Twi'lek made a claim that every time one distances themselves from the Citadel and the Relays, the structures of these Forerunners become infinitely more intriguing.

This was promptly and quickly laughed off as ludicrous sentiment.

However, there was an underlying support that many were unaware of.

"Do you have any idea what this one might be?" Tevos asked.

"I know only as much as you do, Tevos." Shaak-Ti stated.

Tevos slumped slightly in her seat. "Anything else of note or interest?"

"The Salarians and Duros have been advocating for another expansion out into unknown space." Shaak-Ti said.

"Again?" Tevos frowned. "Even after what had happened with the Yahg?"

"They appear more determined this time." Shaak-Ti noted. "Our fellow Salarian and Duros council members were all for it. They even managed to rope in Dural and even Sparatus of all Turians."

"Truly?" Tevos asked in surprise.

The Togruta nodded. "Indeed. Leontyne even expressed interest."

At the mention of the Twi'lek Councilor, Tevos couldn't help but have a more guarded expression.

Out of all the councilors, Tevos trusted Leontyne Saresh the least. It wasn't that she was necessarily bad per say.

Far from it with the way she championed herself for others but… she couldn't help but feel that Leontyne always had a more subtle, ulterior motive behind her words and promises.

Maybe it was her just overthinking things but she knew she wasn't alone when Shaak-Ti murmured to her that she'd keep an eye on Leontyne after she was selected to be the next Twi'lek council. That set the stage for her to always be wary when conversing with Leontyne.

If Shaak-Ti of all TTAZ was wary of someone, you know to keep your eyes open and guarded.

"And what of Leonie?" Tevos asked expectantly. "Where has she gone off to this time? Hat or shoes?"

"Hats." Shaak-Ti said knowingly with a small grin.

"Ah." Tevos nodded. "And how many has she collected thus far?"

"I believe the last count for hats was upwards of up to three hundred thousand." Shaak-Ti said in recollection. "As for shoes… a dozen or so away from a million."

"By the Goddess." Tevos remarked in amused astonishment. "Where does she keep all of that?"

"One could only imagine if they are being honest with themselves." Shaak-Ti said, thinking of their charismatic and eccentric council and species member.

Leonie was undoubtedly the most well known and most popular member of the Council and it was hard pressed not to see why.

She usually is found spending time with many of the Citadel races across the Citadel itself, enjoying lavish parties or going to those who are in need and simply being present for their issues.

She lives by the notion of what makes our people happy makes me happy.

Being an eccentric collector of materialistic items has seemingly endeared her to many as well, bizarre as that may seem.

Still, Leonie wasn't on the Citadel Council for nothing. She was an adept warrior, practitioner of arts, collector of one as well on top of having a keen understanding of people.

She had been one to always advocate what was best for all parties and had worked well with Turians and Kel-Dorians on many occasions due to their cultures and ways of life emphasizing the belief of the individuals helping the whole.

"Maybe we should consider rolling back the restrictions of Mass Relays." Tevos said, making Shaak-Ti look at her in slight surprise.

"Truly? You wish to do such a thing?" Shaak-Ti inquired.

"I… am slightly unsure if I were to be honest." Tevos said with her expression unreadable. "After the incident with the Yahg… I am still rather hesitant about the idea of going through more Mass Relays. We may stumble across more aggressive races. Or maybe we shall encounter benign and peaceful ones."

"We haven't expanded all that much." Shaak-Ti said with a small shrug. "Zul Hun constantly points out how little Citadel Space has expanded overall in the past few decades."

Tevos shook her head with a small smile. "Leave it to our Duros councilor to wish to expand and explore."

"It's in his nature as he enjoys reminding us." Shaak-Ti said knowingly.

Tevos thought on the matter for several moments, the idea of expansion and stretching out the borders of the Citadel.

Many of their best have theorized that they were in a sense of stability for the time being. Resources were constant and while there are the occasional immediate problems, there hasn't been much in the way of long lasting conflict for some time now.

There would of course come the time where this peace would come to an abrupt end as the universal laws of conflict would always rear its ugly head in the end.

Maybe it was better they face this head on… or maybe not.

The Rachni Wars, Krogan Rebellions and Yahg are enough of a deterrent.

And yet still…

The possibilities of meeting other lifeforms out in the galaxy still remain an intriguing and alluring idea.

After all, how else was the Citadel Council and their current way of life supposed to come into existence.

By taking chances and exploring the great unknown.

"Then shall we bring it up in the next Council meeting?" Shaak-Ti inquired. "I am confident at least three of our fellow Counselors would be more than up for the challenge."

Tevos chuckled, knowing all too well who would jump at the prospect of expansion and exploration.

"Perhaps we shall." Tevos said. "But first, I'd like to find something to drink to soothe my aching head from today."

"You can always meditate with me."

"Shaak-Ti, even you know that I only do that in my most desperate of times." Tevos remarked with a small smirk. "And that's not my current state right now."

"Good to know." Shaak-Ti rose from her seat. "If you'll excuse me, I shall be visiting an old friend."

"Give him my regards, won't you?"

"Naturally."

_Citadel Biotic Sages Academy_

A blue skinned Twi'lek stood from the sidelines, observing a class of two dozen and so making the same motion of a punch before their trainer off to the side let out a "HA" with the group immediately shifting their stance in unison.

Almost all of them.

"Mission." The Turian instructor pointed out. "Your right leg is off balance."

Said Twi'lek cursed under her breath, re-positioning her footing and displaying a more stable stance.

Next to her, her best friend shared a look with one another until their instructor once again made a loud proclamation making all perform a diagonal high kick and stomping their raised leg back down to the ground.

"They are coming along quite nicely." A baritone voice said from behind the blue skinned Twi'lek. "Your two students are coming along at an admirable rate, Aayla."

"Still have much room for improvement, Master Plo."

"There is always room for improvement." Plo Koon, Headmaster of the Sages Academy of the Citadel said with his arms crossed. "Though in terms of the TTAZ… you have the benefit of time."

Aayla Secura, Master Sage of Biotics and Ranger of the TTAZ army chuckled knowingly.

"And yet, even with all that time, some prove to be as inept in learning new things and end up stagnating themselves." Secura said with a knowing tone.

Plo merely nodded, observing the class as the instructor informed them to stand straight and collapse down and cross their legs.

"The key to Biotics within the way of the Sage is clarity of self with spirit, body and mind." The Turian said. "It is a foolhardy and short sighted view to see your abilities with Biotics as nothing more than just a tool and means to utilize this ability in your life to get what you want. But to truly become adept at becoming a master Biotic and a sage, one must let go of preconceived notions of Biotics and open themselves up to a greater galaxy of possibilities."

The Turian then closed his eyes and exhaled.

He sat there before the class for several moments until the familiar hue of Biotics appeared around him.

It seemed to permeate off of the Turian in a strange mist like fashion before items around him began to be encompassed by the Biotic mist.

Eventually, the Turian and several items around him began levitating with the avian-like alien beginning to float as well.

The class looked on in awe and wonder. Many had heard and seen holovids of this display of Biotic control but seeing it in person is another matter entirely.

After a few moments of floating in the air, the Turian pressed down and exhaled a calming breath. Opening his eyes, he couldn't help but smirk slightly at everyone's gaze upon him.

"Biotic meditation." The Turian instructor elaborated. "Created and perfected by my brother race of the Kel-Dor, it is one of the highest forms of Biotic control. The Nervous systems we all possess connect everything within our bodies and the Kel-Dor people have discovered a means in which all nerves are unified and work in tandem with one another to create a feeling of serenity. This is a technique only mastered by the most talented and persistent of those who wish to study Biotics. The Kel-Dor stages have deemed this the ultimate ability of Biotics as many have called it the culmination of mind, body and soul. The unity of all three that would make you above the masters. A Sage."

There was a great sense of anticipation among the students as they listened to the Turian Master regale them with tales of great heroism and overcoming adversity with those that had a complete mastery over Biotics. Abilities and tricks most couldn't even wrap their minds around.

It was at that moment that Plo Koon opted to make himself known to the class as his baritone voice was heard by all.

"Normally we would tell you this at the start." Plo Koon said, making many students gasp slightly before all bowed in respect. "But you are all ones that have either been recommended for this academy or trained with great tenacity to enter. After this day, your lessons shall increase tenfold and we Sages shall be vigorous in your training. This is the only time we are giving you an option now up front. Normally, you can leave at your discretion. But after this day… how many of you would live knowing you walked away from unlocking your full potential?

The assembled group of Biotic users stood fast and showed no signs of leaving after witnessing their Turian Master display such proficiency in Biotics and the Head Sage's declaration of training hell. They will not back down from it.

Seeing the results, Plo nodded with his arms behind his back.

"Very well then, let's begin."

_-One Week Later-_

Ahsoka Tano collapsed onto her bed with a sigh of complete and utter exhaustion.

Her friend Mission Vao was no better, only getting the upper half of her body onto her own bed with a loud groan.

"I thought I was in better shape than that." Mission whined aloud.

"Better shape?" Ahsoka asked in a low voice. "I didn't realize Master Plo was so fit. He beat us all without even using Biotics. It's not fair."

"I see you two are adjusting as expected." Said an amused voice from the front of their room.

Both turned to see a smirking Aayla Secura leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Aayla." Ahsoka said cheerfully. "I'd come and give you a hug but I think my legs will give out."

"I can't feel… anything." Vao bemoaned. "I'd rather fight a Thresher Maw then go through Master Plo's training again."

"It's only been two days." Aayla said with a laugh, seating herself on Missions bed as it had the most space.

"No, it's been a few months now." Ahsoka argued back. "These two days are nothing short of hell."

"Goddess, I'd never think I'd see the day where you two were so beaten down." Aayla remarked with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, have you ever done anything like this?" Mission challenged with Aayla giving her a slightly bland look.

There was a moment of silence until Mission conceded and had her face down onto her bed as she gave out a muffled scream of defeat.

Aayla only laughed at her younger student/friend's plight.

Suddenly, a whirring and ringing noise was heard from the lone table within Ahsoka and Missions room prompting them both to let out disparaging groans.

"Aayla, can you-"

The older Rutian Twi'lek already stood up and responded to the incoming call.

A holo-transmission of a young Asari appeared upon the table.

She looked up and smiled. _"Master Secura, what a pleasant surprise."_

"Hello Liara." Aayla greeted the Asari. "You know you don't have to call me that. It's just Aayla to you and the others."

" _Force of habit, Ma- Aayla."_

"How are you faring?"

" _Well enough."_ Liara said. _"I've been busy to say the least."_

"So I've heard." Aayla said. "Hope you aren't working yourself ragged Liara. Not after what happened last time."

On her end, Liara's expression changed into one of embarrassment. _"That only happened once."_

"And as your older sister, I make it my effort to remind you three of all your mistakes and misgivings." Aayla teased.

Liara only huffed, crossing her arms and looking away in annoyance.

Though Aayla wasn't their blood sister by any stretch, she had been a part of their lives for nearly sixty years by this point having been an older sister figure to them for many decades. It wasn't uncommon amongst the TTAZ for close knit groups of friends to refer to one another as sisters.

While Ahsoka, Mission and Liara were only just about to break into their hundreds, Aayla was 336.

Nearing the start of her Matron phase of a TTAZ lifespan, Aayla was a Twi'lek that hailed from the TTAZ colony world of Ryloth.

At a young age, relative to TTAZ standards, Aayla was compelled to join the rangers at a young age having an aptitude for utilizing Biotics in a combative sense.

Sent to a Sage academy, she studied under the tutelage of several Biotic masters and Sages until she had met the newly appointed Sage Master Plo Koon.

Though she was older than him by a good few decades, he was without question her master, elevating her to the rank status of Journeyman within the Sages academy's.

Well on her way to being a Master.

It was during one of her personal Journeyman missions that she found herself on the homeworld of her people, Thessia.

During her time there, she had encountered three young children that were playing about in one of the gardens of Anerzesa.

An Asari was being pulled around by another Twi'lek and Togruta, both of whom were younger than their Asari friend and were eager to play.

They had run up to her at one point, Ahsoka nearly knocking herself against Aayla's leg.

And… it was strange at how well they had gotten along so quickly and easily. Both Ahsoka and Vao instantly recognized her as a ranger and were openly in awe of her. Liara was a bit more hesitant to get to know her but when Aayla displayed knowledge on history taught to her by the Sages, the young Asari was quick to warm up to her.

Since then, by a string of coincidences or one may even call it fate, Aayla would always encounter the three young girls until she had inexplicably been declared their older sister by Mission and Ahsoka.

Not that she didn't have anything wrong with that. In fact she found herself enjoying the title quite a bit and embraced the role whole heartedly.

" _Where are Ahsoka and Mission?"_ Liara asked after a moment.

T'soni was met or heard, rather with two distinctive groans of pain and suffering.

Aayla stepped aside to reveal to Liara her two friends laying down on their beds with them having positioned themselves to at least be facing her.

" _Goddess, what happened to you two?"_ Liara asked in slight surprise. She had never seen her hyperactive friends so stationary before.

"These two Padawans are discovering just how much Master Plo had been holding back on them." Aayla said with a teasing grin making both girls bemoan their situation.

"Everything hurts Liara." Ahsoka whined petulantly.

"I can't feel my… everything." Mission cried out overdramatically making Liara look at them both in bewildered pity.

" _It couldn't have been that bad?"_ Liara said inquisitively.

"It's been only two days after the _real_ training began." Aayla stated with a wry grin.

" _Goddess."_ While Liara was sympathetic to the plight of her friends she couldn't help but have an underlying sense of amusement. Seeing her friends who usually had boundless energy, she found it hard to deny the funny scene before her. _"Are you sure they can handle this?"_

"Liara?!" Ahsoka and Mission both cried out in betrayal.

Several moments of silence passed before the group broke into a small laugh.

"How have you been Liara? How's the excavation coming along?" Ahsoka asked.

" _There are several ruins we have found recently."_ Liara said. _"And it is not of Prothean design."_

"Not Prothean?" Mission repeated in slight confusion. "What else could it be then?"

" _It's the other ruins. The one similar to Thessia and several other locations."_ Liara elaborated. _"I believe they were called the… Forerunners if memory serves me correctly."_

"Forerunners?" Ahsoka repeated, not exactly knowing what Liara was talking about.

"I have heard about this." Aayla said with a slight frown, thinking over the name. "Though much is not really known about them. What have you found Liara?"

" _It wasn't much really."_ Liara admitted. _"We're not entirely sure how it got here or how it works. All we have is going off of previous research and excavation. These Forerunners came before the Protheans by a good number of years, possibly 50,000. Maybe even more. They were advanced enough to colonize on multiple worlds though we haven't found much of them. Last we checked there had been only a few dozen worlds that were found to house these ruins."_

"Anything special about them?" Mission asked, now becoming intrigued by all this talk of ancient civilizations.

" _That's just it, there's only theories and speculations."_ Liara stated. _"Much that we don't understand at all. No traces of Eezo, no traces of biotics. We can't exactly figure out what it was that made them space faring races. From what I had read up on them, most of the ruins that were uncovered were the furthest from Relays with perhaps one or two exceptions. Only Thessia has these ruins."_

While the four members of the TTAZ race were having their conversation on the Forerunners, on the Salarians planet of Sur'kesh a young up and coming Salarian was diligently going over his own set of data in regard to this ancient alien group.

Though he had just broken through a decade old, by Salarian standards due to their short lives, he was nearing adulthood.

This Salarian was rapidly going over a litany of data pertaining to many species with him humming a jaunty tone that he had heard a Zeltron once sing. Currently, he was going over another recent string of energy readings.

They had been growing with a recent spike in the last year alone.

Whatever it was, he wasn't exactly sure.

None within the Citadel knew just what this energy was supposed to be. Even those not associated with the Citadel had no idea though there wasn't much to go off of. The best they had were the Quarians and they were mostly concerned with their self-preservation then researching energy readings that possibly served no purpose for their flotilla.

Still, this was immensely fascinating to research and learn.

Whatever this energy fluctuation and reading may be, it was coming from the undiscovered parts of the galaxy.

And quite frankly, Mordin Solus shares the Duros sentiment of exploration and discovery.

There were hundreds of planets inhabited by the sentient species within this galaxy. There was much that had been accomplished in these long Millenniums of exploration, expansion, war and peace.

Yet the fact remained that by many experts' estimations, the Citadel species had only explored perhaps ten percent of the entire known galaxy. Possibly more, possibly less but they were limited.

Mordin recognized it right away.

Advanced as they were, Solus was quick to realize that they were also limited. Their reliance on Eezo and the Mass Relays for interstellar travel hindered them to a grave degree.

When learning about the Forerunners, limited as the knowledge they have on them as it is, Mordin saw an ancient species that had successfully expanded across the stars without the reliance of the Mass Relays. Without the use of Eezo.

Many within the fields of xeno-archeology, science and interstellar travel chalked up the downfall of this race that came before the Protheans of their failure of not utilizing the Mass Relays or Eezo.

But Mordin had come to the conclusion that this was a fallacy and short sighted conclusion. How is it that the Protheans who were believed to have constructed the Mass Relays, who had also utilized Eezo also suffered such a sudden extinction?

The data just wasn't adding up.

Mordin had devised a thesis he had been working on that perhaps, these "Forerunners" utilized their own unique form of FTL before meeting their downfall by an unknown force or means. Similar to the Protheans.

It did not matter whether or not they used technology similar to one another, the Protheans and Forerunners were both extinct ancient civilizations that used different forms of advanced technology.

The Citadel inherited the Prothean technology.

Who's to say that another sentient species hadn't done the same for the Forerunners?

Perhaps there were other sentient races out there that had a more fundamental understanding of the Forerunners compared to the species known to the Citadel.

It was a Salarian who had managed to uncover the name of the preceding race that came before the Forerunners.

Then an Asari along with a Duros and a Kel-Dor had furthered research by uncovering that they were about 100,000 years old, possibly even older.

Yet… there was one piece of information that was kept from the public.

Nobody knew what it was but a Zeltron and Salarian had discovered another word that seemed extremely prevalent among the ruins.

Something called a Reclaimer.

This was certainly a fascinating word to be found among most of the ruins.

What could that possibly mean?

Reclaimer…

If one were to break down this word, the first part would be one of obvious interest.

Reclaim.

"Take back what is lost? Maybe, maybe. To return and take what had been scattered." Mordin rambled to himself in rapid speech.

With the word Reclaimer came the belief of something or someone coming back to take this technology or these ruins. But for what purpose?

"Loss of technology? Inheritance? War? Plague? Extinction?" Mordin continued listing off these possible theories, all the while comparing the energy readings to those that were recognized within the Citadel.

No matches.

Absolutely none.

This both frustrated and enticed the Salarian to a great degree.

He knew there were answers out there.

Mordin was absolutely positive there were. And he also knew that just by sitting around here he wouldn't be able to get those answers anytime soon.

He wasn't a TTAZ or a Krogan after all.

Mordin knew that the only way for him to get these answers was for him to go out there himself. He absolutely needed to go out into the vast unexplored parts of this galaxy.

"Mordin Solus."

The Salarian was so preoccupied with his own work he had failed to notice another Salarian had entered his workspace.

He looked up from his Omni-tool and saw a lightly green skinned Salarian standing a few meters away from him.

"Ah Rorwarth." Mordin greeted politely. "Apologies for not hearing you."

"None needed Mordin." Rorwarth waved off. "How goes your work?"

"Stagnant with no sign of advancement." Mordin stated though with no sense of frustration.

"A challenge then." Rorwarth remarked, earning a hum from his younger contemporary. "I've always known how much you enjoy such vices."

Mordin smiled a bit at that comment.

Rorwarth Gebano. 35 years old and a mentor figure to Mordin, he shared several of his own… eccentricities if you will.

Primarily their enjoyment of studying other species and humming differing types of music.

Rorwarth stood beside his younger protege, both overlooking the same set of energy readings that Mordin had been studying for the past few hours.

A comfortable silence lapsed between the two until...

"What if I brought you a different challenge?" Rorwarth spoke up after a few moments. "One that involves your work here."

Mordin blinked, slowly turning his head towards his older friend who kept his eyes on the screens with a small growing smirk.

He was unsure of what to say so the best that he could come up with was,

"...Meaning?"

Rorwarth turned to his younger colleague.

"There have been… rumblings and stirring going on within the Council." Gebano said. "The Council has yet to make it official. No public announcement has been made but it shall come to pass within the coming months, perhaps a year at latest."

Rorwarth brought up his Omni-Tool and sent a set of files to Mordins with him promptly opening said files.

Blinking, Mordin to a moment to read over the title that came with all these new files.

"Citadel Council Official Expeditionary Exploratory Force?" Mordin read aloud.

"Name is a work in progress but the groundwork has been laid out." Rorwarth explained. "Many have agreed after years of debating. It is high time we start doing what we have done best in the past. Explore and expand. Discover what is waiting for us out there in the endless void. We've grown bored of looking at the same star charts, traversing the same relays and systems and visiting the same planets. Conflict… will come but we are prepared. Now more than ever to show a unified front."

"How much is being put into this?" Mordin asked, rapidly sifting through multiple pages.

"No expense is being spared." Rorwarth stated with confidence. "We've learned from our past interactions with the Yahg, The Rachni and the Krogan. If we meet any hostile force out there they will be met by forces of our own. But the primary purpose of this is in the two E's. Expedition and Exploratory."

"Numbers? Staff? Personnel?"

"Within the coming days and foreseeable few weeks and months, many specific individuals will be approached." Rorwarth explained.

_Within a docking port of the Citadel, a Zeltron was busy at work replacing an engine from a small fighter. She had black splotches all over her pink skin yet it did little in taking away from her alluring beauty._

_Wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead, the Zeltron turned to see a well-dressed Turian standing before her._

" _Deliah Blue?" The Turian asked with the Zeltron blinking in surprise._

" _That's me." She confirmed._

_The Turian had his Omni-Tool out a second later and sent her some files._

" _Please Read this and don't speak of this until the selected date and time."_

_Bewildered, Deliah had no time to ask just what it was he was talking about as he walked away a second later._

_Thrown for a loop, Delilah Blue quickly brought up her Omni-Tool to see just what it was she received. After several seconds of reading, her eyes widened to a great degree._

"They will be judged on merit, capabilities, expertise, talent…"

_A Kel-Dor watched with his arms crossed as several of his students continued to practice with their physical exercise._

" _Master Plo Koon?"_

_The Kel-Dorian Biotic Sage turned to see an Asari before him._

" _Can I help you?" Plo asked politely._

" _I have been told to bring you this." The Asari sent him the package she was charged with via her omni-tool. "Keep this under wraps until the date is officially announced."_

"This is a massive undertaking that will involve our best."

_A large camp of archaeologists were busy at work, excavating their latest find when suddenly, all of their Omni-Tools pinged aloud._

_Confused by this, they all opened them up to find out just what it was that they had been sent._

" _Liara!"_

" _I know! This is… by the Goddess this is…"_

"We shall go out into the unknown as we have many times before."

_A lone Turian had returned from a mission that he was directly tasked with by the Council._

_This Turian was a Spectre and one of their best._

_He had sat himself down in his favorite bar within the Citadel to relax after a strenuous ordeal routing pirates and slavers when…_

" _Nihlus Kryik."_

_The Turian turned around to see a Kel-Dorian standing before him._

" _Can I help you?" he asked._

" _Your next mission." The Kel-Dor stated. "Straight from the Council."_

' _Another mission?' Nihlus internally mused. 'So soon?'_

_Bringing up his Omni-Tool, Nihlus's jaw slightly fell open upon reading the contents of what he just received._

" _When the time comes, you will be called upon." The Kel-Dor nodded, leaving the Turian to read the new mission he was to undertake in the coming months._

"And when the time comes that we meet other species? We will meet them with our best and brightest but toughest and strongest as well."

"Are you perhaps referring to the Krogan?"

Rorwarth snorted. "Perhaps. There was conversation of having the Quarians join as well."

"Truly?" Mordin asked in surprise.

"Yes. A lot of changes are going to happen within the coming years, Mordin." Rorwarth said with a fond tone. "Perhaps I'll live to see them all. Perhaps I won't. But what I do know is that _you_ are going to be there at the front of it all. And when all this is passed on in history, I expect the name of Mordin Solus to be known for centuries to come."

"Oh do stay alive." Mordin pleaded jokingly. "I would very much like for you to see me in all my posturing and boastful nature. I'm certain the Salarians deserve to have one glory-hog at least in their lifetime."

Rorwarth chuckled, patting his friend/protege on the back with encouragement.

"I expect nothing less from you, my friend."

**And there we have it folks.**

**Isn't nice how they're all so unaware?**

**How badly things are gonna get for them?**

**Gyahahaha.**

**Ah, things are getting interesting now. One side of the galaxy has just plunged itself into war.**

**The other… continuing their life of relative leisure, unaware of the conflicts to come.**

**Not much I could think of to say really in this note other than this.**

**It's not a Halo crossover if it doesn't got any Spartans. Star Wars addition there may be, but BSX and I have made it clear the kind of Crossover this is gonna be.**

**It's gonna be one outside the box and one that I believe hasn't been or is rarely told on this site. We want to tell different stories with as much creative freedom as we possibly have.**

**It's why we got ourselves a timeline for this particular story. To create a sense of order as events pass by.**

**So, me and BulletStormX wish you all Adieu. There's more chapters to write and Samurais to kill cause Ghost of Tsushima is fucking amazing.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	8. The Second Year

**Thanks for the awesome review guys.**

**But… I think I need to make this clear, here and now.**

**There's a lot of conclusions and reviews and such that kinda… jumped the gun and just flat out believed things are gonna go as expected. Some may go as it were others… not so much.**

**There's a lot that we have planned out and if you guys just jump to conclusions, you're kinda killing your own fun and expectations. Take it from me, I used to do the same and it is not fun.**

**Just sit back and read as the chapters come out. If things go up to your expectations and you're disappointed, that's fine. If not, and you were happy with what we had that's also fine. And also great.**

**Until that time…**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 8: The Second Year.

_Journal Entry XII_

_It was honestly frightening and daunting just how quickly the war began to spread._

_Within the first year alone, there had already been multiple engagements._

_Harvest may have been lost but our retaliation against the Covenant would come swiftly. Chi Ceti IV was where we learned that this collective wasn't as invincible as we were led to believe._

_Plasma… and very excellently crafted at that._

_We had some advantages of course. In actuality, they outclassed several aspects of the Covenant._

_But they… they had the numbers. They had three thousand years of interstellar travel compared to only our meager five centuries._

_In all that time, none of us ever truly understood the scope nor the size of the Covenant._

_We didn't realize how lucky we were when we began uncovering just how much the Covenant had been holding back._

_Still… I'm most certain the best of the UNSC would have been able to take them out single handedly_

_End of Journal Entry._

**2526/2170**

**March 1** **st**

Admiral Preston Cole stood before the window of his ship within the bridge, posture straight, hands behind his back and eyes filled with grim determination.

They had assembled a sizable fleet of ships to say the least.

Heavy hitters and the best that each species within the UNSC had to offer up to this point.

Preston Cole led his fleet aboard one of the most powerful starships the UNSC had ever designed. A carrier class ship that was commissioned in the late 25 century, thanks to the shipyards of Annaxes and Fondor they had churned out a few dozen of these with only perhaps a few more digits away from breaking into the early hundreds.

Massive in size, shape and presence, the newly created 4.5 kilometer sized Punic-Class Supercarrier lived up to its name.

This Supercarrier was armed with the most powerful MAC cannon at the UNSC's disposal, simply named the "Super" MAC. Along with the Super MAC came state of the art defense point Railguns, Archer Missiles, Gauss defense turrets and Mini-Macs.

Not only did it have the best MAC cannon the UNSC had at their disposal, it also carried with it a complement of six Charon-Class Light Frigates loaded into the specifically designed hangar bays of this Supercarrier.

And adding to this already stacked carrier, there was the complement of the latest line of starfighters.

Aside from the Frigates the ship was packing, there were dozens of X-Wings, Arc-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings, Longswords(Nicknamed the D-wings) and Pelicans.

In regard to the name of this ship, being an Admiral, Cole went with calling this Supercarrier the _UNSC Midway._ Originally, that name was meant to go to a Destroyer but Cole felt it would go better with this ship in particular.

Along with the Supercarrier were three Valiant-Class Super-Heavy Cruisers, one of which was his original Flagship that he used during the Insurrectionist conflict. The UNSC Everest.

And this fleet wasn't alone.

Along with this fleet was none other than Admiral Ackbar's fleet of ships, fresh of the Mon Cala shipyards.

Ackbar led with his flagship, the newly created Viscount-Class Star Defenders.

A top of the line battleship, this was one of the latest ships within the Mon Calamari line of cruisers.

With a length of three kilometers and armed with some of the most powerful Railguns and Gauss cannons, the Viscount is one of the strongest ships the Mon Calas had ever designed.

The Viscount-Class UNSC Tsunami would come down upon the covenant as its namesake and take out these bastards.

Along with the Tsunami was the escort of three MC80B Star Cruisers, each at a solid 1.2 kilometers in length and 10 MC30c Frigates.

The large assemblage of ships were on route to one location right now.

Where this war started.

Harvest.

It had already been a year since the start of the war with the Covenant.

Since then, while it wasn't immediate, the full mobilization of the UNSC fleet was underway. Some planets apparently weren't made aware yet from what Cole has heard, astonishing as that may be. From what he understood, some of these planets were on the outer fringes of UNSC controlled space.

Still, regardless of those planets, the war was well underway.

Since Harvest, there had been sporadic engagements but each was no less as important as the last.

Though they had retreated from Harvest, a few months later they had scored their first victory against the Covenant within the Chi Ceti system.

It was emphatic to say the least, showing to all that while this foe was new and daunting, they were not invincible.

The Spartan-II's saw to that.

Afterwards, no less than a week after this engagement, Admiral Raddus scored another naval victory on the third of December during the Battle of Alpha Corvi II. Though less than two weeks afterwards, the Covenant found a Wookiee colony.

The Colony of Kantyyyn, a Wookiee-centric colony that had a population of two million Wookiees 500,000 humans and 230,000 Mon Cala.

All of which were killed and turned to ash and glass.

2525 ended with what was a month that many considered a draw.

The start of the new year was silent for the most part…

Until the 13th of February, the Covenant discovered the joint colony world of Bliss. 3.5 million Humans and Mon Cala perished in the Covenants scorching of the planet.

They had lost Harvest and two planets were burnt to the point of being uninhabitable.

Some within the UNSC were referring to the process as glassing due to the glassy looking surface that was left over after the Covenant had scorched the two planets to literal death.

Now it was their turn to strike back.

From scouts sent by Captain Grun Whell, the Covenant were still orbiting Harvest with a now reinforced force of about seven ships.

They would be met with a rude awakening with their arrival.

Cole's thoughts were interrupted via the Midways Smart AI Odin.

" _Exiting Slip-Space in five minutes."_

"Attention all-hands." Cole said a moment later. "Standby for battle stations. All Starfighters prep your fighters. Silver Team?"

" _Yes Admiral."_ Daniel-116, Spartan-II of Silver Team responded.

"You'll be leading all squadrons for this engagement."

" _Copy that, sir."_

"Red, Omega?"

" _Sir."_ Came the responses of the team leaders Jerome-092 and Leon-011.

"You Spartans will be a part of the ground engagement under Captain Gerald Shepard of Boomerang Company. There are two drop zones marked as priority targets. Clear those out for us to start landing more troops."

" _Acknowledged sir."_ Both team leaders said.

Once the orders were given out, alarms began blaring as all ships were notified with the same broadcast.

Standby for battle.

Once the five minutes elapsed, the tears within space itself opened before all UNSC ships with them entering the Epsilon Indi System.

"All ships, call in." Cole announced.

"This is Admiral Ackbar of the Tsunami." The Mon Cala Admiral's rumbly voice echoed within the Midway bridge.

Grun Whell's loud roar from the Everest signified his ship was ready.

The rest were all accounted for, crew prepped and ready for combat.

They were drawing closer to Harvest.

"Cole." Ackbar spoke up.

"I see 'em." Preston said, narrowing his eyes as the projection before Cole highlighted seven Covenant Ships over Harvest and enlarging them for the Admiral to get a better look at them.

One was labeled as a super-destroyer, the first ship to ever be encountered by the UNSC from the Covenant.

Two kilometers in length, the ship certainly didn't lack intimidation.

With it were four of the identified CPV-Class Heavy Destroyers each being an even 1.6 kilometers in length.

There was a slightly smaller RPV-Class Light Destroyer, just a hundred meters smaller in length compared to the CPVs, though no less deadly.

However…

There was a new unidentified ship that stuck out like a sore thumb among the seven Covenant ships.

It was odd, to say the least.

At its center was a sphere being surrounded by two large… hangar bays, yes, those were hangar bays.

And it was quite massive compared to all the other ships. Their systems had identified the ship as being one with a length of 3.1 kilometers with a width at a solid 3 kilometers and height of about 1 kilometer. It's circumference… really didn't matter to Cole nor Ackbar as they had gotten a brief scan of the ship.

From what they were able to deduce, this must be some kind of carrier as they had picked up on multiple smaller vessels within the ship.

And whatever this new ship was, it was clearly important due to three of the CPV Heavy Destroyers moving to form a defensive perimeter around the ship.

The other CPV joined the RPV and Super-Destroyer in their advance on the newly arrived UNSC fleet.

"Alright you alien bastards." Cole muttered underneath his breath. "Let's see what you're all about."

The Charon-Class Frigates were deployed and moments later, a few dozen fighters that flew before the UNSC fleet numbered now in the one hundreds.

"This Admiral Ackbar of the Lance Fleet." The Mon Cala called out. "All squadron leaders report in."

Multiple X-wings, Y-wings, A-Wings, D-wings and Arc-Wings all formed up into varying strike formations.

Some were evenly shaped V's while others had fighters favoring a particular side depending on where they were in the large formation of Starfighters.

At the head of all the Squadrons were four X-wings and two Y-wings.

Daniel-116, leader of Silver team, was flanked by his teammates for this battle.

Yumi-124, Joyner-118, Nicole-121, Caleb-095 and Riz-028.

They would be covering the naval engagement of this op.

Red and Omega have the ground game, the teams being composed of Jerome-092, Douglas-042, Alice-130, Leon-011, Robert-025 and August-099.

"Admiral, this is Silver Leader, standing by."

To Silvers immediate left was a squadron of X-wing fighters number in the dozen.

"This Yellow Leader, standing by."

"This is Crimson Leader, standing by."

"Hawk Leader, standing by."

"Blue Leader, standing by."

"All Squadrons accounted for." Daniel-116 announced.

"Blue Squadron, Yellow Squadron, defend the fleet." Ackbar ordered. "Silver, Hawk, Crimson you press the attack. Keep the Covenants fire on your fighters. Take out turrets and engines. Watch your tails, there's no telling what the Covenant have up their sleeve with that new ship."

"Copy, Admiral." Daniel said, grasping both controls of his X-wing. "Alright fighters you hear 'em. Hawk, Crimson, form up behind us and get ready to enter the fray. Watch those pulse and torpedo turrets."

"Copy Silver Leader." Hawk-1 responded with him and his squadron of twenty five X-wings, A-Wings and Arc-wings.

Beside them was Crimson Squadron, another twenty five set of ships, primarily X-wings, D-wings/Longswords and Y-wings.

"Silver leader, they're launching fighters of their own." Riz-028 responded.

Sure enough, multiple starfighters were exiting the ships of the Covenant with the most coming from that new unidentified ship among the alien fleet.

The leading ship type were the ones that the UNSC had dubbed Seraphs.

For the most part, this ship was shaped in a piscine, teardrop-like shape which seems to aid in its ability to maneuver in zero-gravity. They were fast and could move about well enough as Admiral Raddus had reported but it appeared lacking certain areas via speed and was a tad bit less maneuverable than most of the UNSC's fighters.

With the Seraphs were the ships that ONI had identified last year as Banshees. Though there were only a select few that participated in the first battle of Harvest, they left enough of a mark to be remembered quite distinctly by those who had suffered under their barrage of fire.

This appeared to be a space-oriented variant. From what the UNSC had gathered, the back of the cockpit of the Banshee was rather wide open and exposed in comparison to the Seraphs. These however had enclosed ships and their two were angled more inward for a more streamlined design.

However, these two fighters were not alone.

With them was a flock of brand-new starfighters, or new to the UNSC fighters at the very least.

They were thin, needle-nosed with a bulb-like canopy that gave them a clear view of the pilots within the ships.

From what some of the UNSC pilots were able to discern, they spotted some Sangheili, Unggoy but primarily Geonosians.

"Those are new." Caleb said in a low tone.

"Stay Frosty." Daniel replied quickly. "The primary weapons look like they're situated on the interior tips of those needles."

"Needles?" Joyner remarked with a chuckle.

"What do you want me to call them?" Daniel retorted. "All Squadrons, brace. Let them pass in between us. Their plasma is effective but not as fast as the primary starships. Pick your targets. Arc-wing fighters, you're our eyes out here, call out patterns and bogeys. Those new fighters are being marked as priority targets. If you have a chance to take them out, do it. Rather not find out their capabilities."

116 got an acknowledgement from the squadrons as Silver Team accelerated forward before diverting into pairs of two.

A moment later, multiple fighters flew by one another dogfights underway with targets being pinged and pursued.

" _This is Hawk-2, moving to engage."_

" _Murphy, you've got a bogey on your tail."_

" _Clean hit."_

" _Watch those new ships, they're fast."_

" _Crimson-5 is down, repeat, Crimson-5 is down."_

" _They're all over me!"_

" _Hold on Hawk-8, we're coming around."_

" _Watch your vectors, those needles can move around easily."_

" _Hawk-1 to Hawk 3, 5, 11, 12, 15 and 16 with me. We need to clear a path for our ships."_

All this was heard over the comms by Cole and Ackbar as they observed the dogfight.

Ackbar was observing all this, taking particular interest in the Covenant destroyers that made sure to keep that new ship defended. Narrowing his eyes, Ackbar began looking around as he took note of the formation before making a decision.

"Cole."

"Ackbar?" Cole responded from the Midway.

"That ship that's behind those three destroyers, it's being defended quite explicitly. Almost like…"

"They're challenging us." Cole finished getting a nod from his fellow Admiral. "Then I say we meet their challenge head on. Attention all hands, prep for battle stations. Odin get the MAC ready. Let's show these bastards the fire we're packing."

"All ground units make way to your designated ships." Ackbar followed up with his set of orders. "Boomerang Company, prep your pods for a danger close drop."

The UNSC ships began moving and positioning their ships to face the Covenant ships with the opposing force responding in kind.

"Admirals, this is Blue Leader. Requesting permission to engage the enemy fleet."

Both Ackbar and Cole mulled it over for a brief moment before agreeing.

"You're clear to engage, Blue Squadron." Ackbar stated. "Keep your formations loose. Their defensive turrets have a wide range of fire."

"Watch those turrets." Cole added. "They can lock on to a target and pursue."

"Copy that."

Thirty UNSC starfighters broke off from the fleet and moved to attack the Covenant ships head on.

One was shot down right away by a stray plasma bolt yet the rest began harrying the multitude of enemy ships with lead and missiles.

The rest of the UNSC ships were firing off archers missiles and blasting away any enemy fighter that flew by their ship with the railgun turrets.

UNSC starfighters were meeting their match with those new needle-like ships yet it seemed they held the edge in speed and depending on the fighter, maneuverability as well.

They were slowly taking down the enemy ships bit by bit with the battle showing the UNSC's clear superiority in terms of starfighter combat. The Covenant appeared to only have three fighters in comparison to the five ships the UNSC have out right now.

With the smaller ships being taken care of, it left the much larger ships open to engage one another directly.

"Prime the MAC's boys." Cole ordered. "It's time we showed these Covenant bastards just who the hell they're messing with."

The UNSC ships began positioning their MAC cannons at their targeted Covenant ships.

"SIR." Odin suddenly yelled out. "I'm detecting multiple Slip-Space ruptures."

"What?!" Ackbar said aloud in surprise.

"Target those ships and fire." Cole quickly ordered. "Not taking any chances."

Upwards of a dozen MACs and Railguns were shot in rapid succession with each shot impacting the Covenant destroyers. Several had their shields absorb most of the blows until they appeared to have been overwhelmed, and sustained damage.

However, the 2 kilometer destroyer that the UNSC Midway targeted was completely and utterly destroyed.

The "super" MAC round fired from the Midway tore a hole straight through the ship and fractured it into two large chunks with smaller pieces idly floating about.

The Viscount Defender Tsunami's Railguns had also struck a series of critical blows upon its target of one of the CPV Destroyers.

After the barrage, the Covenant was down four ships.

Yet their victory was short lived as a half dozen slip-space ruptures appeared a few hundred kilometers behind the Covenant line of ships.

And from those ruptures came six more Covenant ships, five that were small in comparison to the gargantuan sixth ship leading the charge.

"Odin." Ackbar spoke up.

"Five CRS Light Cruisers with one CCS Battlecruiser." Odin answered straight away. "Raddus encountered them back at Alpha Corvi II."

"Our two Ships are still bigger than theirs but their plasma can melt through our ships with ease." Ackbar stated with a grim tone.

The comm chatter was then filled with warbles and growls of Captain Grun Whell aboard the Everest.

"Grun is right." Cole said. "We need to deploy our troops on the ground now."

"I'll move my portion of the fleet up to engage that unidentified ship." Ackbar said.

"Sirs, before you do anything else, there's something you need to know." Odin said, gaining both admirals' attention. "It took me a while but I detected some sort of transmission coming from that large ship behind those Destroyers. I didn't understand what it was but after the ships that had appeared here, it must have been sending out a call for help."

The six new ships appeared to be making a beeline straight for the circular one that still had two destroyers around it as protection.

"Change of plans then." Cole said. "Mark that new ship is a priority one target. We need to take it out now."

As the naval engagement raged on, within the interior of several UNSC ships, Pelicans were being loaded with marines while attaching tanks and warthogs for drop offs.

Multiple men and women with uniquely designed helmets were rushing towards specially made pods.

Drop pods.

That would send them all directly down towards the surface of Harvest.

The men and women entering these pods were known to the UNSC as the best of the best.

Orbital Drop Shock Troopers or ODST's for short.

"Boomerang company, move it!" An ODST Captain with red tinted armor yelled out to nearly 500 ODST's. "We got to show those bastards just who they're fucking with right now."

Humans and Wookiees with the occasional Mon Cala were quickly armoring up, loading on weapons and jumping into their drop pods.

With the ODST's were six outliers. Six behemoths that stood out from all the ODST's.

And by behemoths, they were even taller than most of the Wookiees. Each one stood between six foot 11 to 7 foot 4.

These were the Spartans of Red Team and Omega Team.

They were silent for the most part. Mindful only of their duty and objective.

Each one was armored up with Mjolnir armor though there were small distinctions between both teams and one another overall to tell one another apart.

Aside from each one having their number on their chest plate, each Spartan had an accent or flare to their armor in order to set themselves apart from each other.

Jerome had a red diagonal accent on the right side of his chest piece.

Douglas's right shoulder pauldron had the ancient helm of the Spartans colored red.

Alice had her shoulder pauldron simply be colored red with a red accent down the middle atop her helmet.

Leon had the omega symbol upon the back of his helmet.

August had the symbol on both her shoulders and Robert had his on his chest piece.

"Spartans." The ODST Captain called out to them. "Load up into your pods and get ready for the drop."

"Yes sir." Jerome said, the Spartans entering their designated drop pods.

Once inside each of their pod, their hatches closed tight with hisses of air coming out to signify that they were securely sealed inside.

"ODST's, this is your Captain Vaughan speaking." The ODST Captain spoke in a casual, almost civilian airline captain type of manner. "We're about to be going down feet first, right at the doorstep of our brand new friends in the stars where our objective will be to shove our boot straight up these Covenant Bastards ass's and give them a UNSC greeting the likes that they'll never forget. Or likely will considering we're gonna kill them all."

There was a small ripple of laughter and growls from the company as the pods jolted.

"ODST's." Vaughan said aloud, tone now intense and fierce. "WHAT'S OUR MOTTO?!"

"FEET FIRST INTO HELL SIR!"

The pods were then maneuvered from their docking bays towards the bottom of the ship. The sight of the naval battle over Harvest greeted the ODST's from most of the ships of the UNSC. fighters were whizzing by back and forth, left and right engaged in heated dogfights with multiple ships crashing into the larger ones or getting shot down and proceeding to fall and burn up in the atmosphere of Harvest.

Within each pod, there was a small set of beeps that signified the countdown before hundreds which turned into thousands of drop pods were jettisoned from the UNSC ships.

The pods were racing down straight towards Harvest.

"ODST's, we have two targets." Captain Vaughan spoke up through the comms as they were racing towards the surface of Harvest. "Intel gave us two locations that we need to secure in order to take the planet back on the ground while our boys in the Navy handle things up there. The ruined city of Gladsheim and a northern structure just a couple hundred clicks out from the city. Boomerang battle group 1, you're with me. Gladsheim is our target. Battle group 2, you're under Lieutenant Tavish. Red Team with me, Omega, Group 2."

The ODST's began adjusting themselves in mid fall, splitting into their two groups as the ground drew closer and closer.

Down below, many saw the scorched and glass plains of Harvest, each ODST being filled with a growing sense of unbridled and righteous fury.

Many began recalling the casualty report that the UNSC had shared after Harvest was taken.

Three million civilians were wiped out.

Most began clutching their controls or weapons tightly, with a breath of anticipation looming.

From the surface, it appeared that their incoming trajectory was noticed by the Covenant ground forces. Plasma was fired at them with some having been unfortunately shot out of the sky.

As they drew closer, the fire became heavier but they were all undeterred.

It was only a matter of seconds now.

Within one of the pods, one young man with a blank suit of ODST armor exhaled with his visor de-polarized. On the two screens in his pod's interior was a human ODST on his left screen with a Wookiee ODST on his right.

Though they were in separate pods, they all locked eye contact with one another for the briefest of moments until their eyes were obscured by their helmets polarizing.

The pod crashed down hard onto the ground and the young twenty year old man grabbed his rifle.

The hatch door burst open and he ran forward in a sprint, firing his rifle immediately as he was joined by dozens of other ODST's that were all firing at the large battalion of Covenant ahead of them.

Bodies dropped all around him yet he pressed on, firing his weapon with a great ferocity as the multitude of enemy species of the Covenant fired back.

His weapon was a personally customized HAR-5A Heavy Assault Rifle that had an extra kick in terms of caliber.

Each shot hit its mark with the aliens called Grunts and Jackals all falling with every bullet that tore through their heads and bodies.

They ODST's were running at full speed, tearing through the Covenant forces even though one after another of their own ranks died.

Each one fought with a rather extreme level of viciousness that made some of the grunts begin to flee in terror.

The fighting was fierce as it was sudden.

It was strange how they were told to capture the city of Gladsheim when the city itself was in ruins or simply glass. There was barely anything left.

All they were told was the sizable Covenant Force that had taken up defensive positions within the city ruins. And those early reports appear to be true as they kept running into wave after wave of covenant forces.

Yet they pressed on with a ferocious vigor.

Some of the Wookiee ODSTs showed this with fantastic displays of athleticism and strength. There were some that jumped forward, tackling down the aliens known as the Sangheili and killing them with intense vitriol.

" _Move up that left flank!"_

" _Watch their fire!"_

" _MEDIC!"_

" _Come on you motherfuckers, COME ON!"_

" _Take down that turret!"_

It was madness all around as the UNSC clashed violently with the Covenant, blood, lead, scorch marks and bodies littering the ground.

Yet the UNSC was gaining ground.

Within a specific section, three heavily armored individuals were carving a path straight through the Covenant.

The Spartan three man squad of Red Team was utterly decimating all that got in their way. They were a blur of death and slaughter, ruthlessly cutting through swaths of Covenant forces.

It was unreal in the eyes of the ODST's closest to them watching these giant soldiers completely decimate the Covenant.

The twenty year old ODST watched as the Spartan with the number 092 dashed forward and literally clotheslined one of those split-lipped aliens down before killing it with a shotgun round to the head.

This distraction served to allow for a wary Unggoy to fire its plasma pistol at the ODST, catching him on the right side of his helmet.

He cried out in anguish, hissing as he stumbled down to the ground while throwing his hand up to his helmet in a desperate scramble to get it off.

There was a familiar roar to his side followed by a crossbow being fired.

Getting his helmet off, he winced as his fingers grazed over his injury.

"Zaeed, you alright?"

" _Graaa, Raaa!"_

"I'm fine, Zaalbar." Zaeed Massani said in a gruff tone, standing back up to his feet with his assault rifle in hand.

The Wookiee growled in concern yet a slight shove from his friend was enough to make him stop for the time.

"Focus ya big carpet, we got a war to win." Zaeed grunted out, momentarily using his weapon as a baseball bat since he didn't have time to reload. He cracked an Unggoy atop the head before slamming a new mag into his rifle to resume fire.

Though the ground battle was bloody, it was effective as they noticed the changing tide of the fight.

They had lost a third of their numbers yet the Covenant were being pushed back.

It helped that Pelicans began coming in danger close to deploy marines, Warthogs, Mongooses and Scorpions just as the Covenant were preparing their own vehicles.

The small intense skirmish scaled into a full on proper battle with both sides inflicting heavy losses upon one another.

However, the sudden drop of the ODST's, their ferocious push through the Covenant and the Spartan Red team on top of the flow of reinforcements was proving to be too much for them.

All the while, in orbit, the battle raged on with several of the UNSC frigates having been destroyed and the majority of the Covenant fleet were now in shambles.

Thanks to the joint efforts of Ackbar and Cole, the Covenant fleet was whittled down and completely and utterly annihilated.

Omega Team and Red Team had soon reported victory in capturing the two staging grounds for the retaking of Harvest groundside.

This was the first counter-operation the UNSC had launched against the Covenant and it was deemed a victory within a few short hours.

The Second Battle of Harvest was theirs.

**Marth 10th**

_The war has passed its first overall year._

_The second is underway, the engagement and retaking of Harvest being the latest in what would undoubtedly be a long and bloody war. A sentiment shared by all within FLEETCOM and the UNSC._

_As a result of the glassing of several planets by the Covenant, the UNSC ratifies the documents of WINTER CONTINGENCY._

_Upon detection of Covenant forces nearby a UNSC controlled system or arrival at a UNSC plant, WINTER CONTINGENCY is to be declared._

_Full mobilization of the planet's defenses and the immediate counter-attacks of Covenant forces on all fronts are to be declared._

_This document was officialized and signed by dozens upon hundreds of high ranking UNSC officials from all four of its races._

**April 20th**

_Circinius IV_

_Corbulo Academy of Military Science_

The Corbulo Academy of Military Science. The academy where many high ranking officials within the UNSC be it military, political or business wise had their children sent to be trained in becoming commissioned officers within the UNSC.

Or in layman's term, a preppy school for kids whose parents have a lot of money and a lot of influence.

This is where, aside from training the future officers of the UNSC took place, some of the more newer and experimental weaponry and technology of the UNSC was to be tested. Well… one of the places at the very least.

Since first contact with the Wookiees, Mon Cala and Kaminoans, there has been an influx of new weaponry that were designed and tested in multiple sights. This academy was one of those sights. Pays to have rich parents sometimes. One tends to get all the goodies earlier than most at times.

Currently, a lone human male stood within the barracks of the Academy, going over inventory as that was his assignment for the day.

He was listing down the weapons the Academy had on hand, taking some time to examine some of the newer models that were officially entered into service not too long ago.

The HAR-5A Heavy Assault Rifle was the newest model within the MA5 series. These new Assault rifles were in essence a bulked up and more customizable assault rifle with an upgraded caliber round.

His team had used it earlier in training earlier today and they were damn effective. The rounds were armor piercing and shredded tree bark apart like no tomorrow.

There was also the latest model of the A280C Burst Rifle.

Developed by Humanity, the Wookiees and the Mon Cala, the Burst Rifle is the latest line of Gauss based assault rifles that were based off of the Wookiees Bowcasters. This new model is a fusion of the basic 7.62mm mixed with Gauss technology.

How they pulled that off was beyond this young man's understanding and reasoning.

All he knows is that they did it and it is a powerful rifle.

It is rather rare at the moment with those who had made this particular rifle stating that it should become more common within the next five years.

This along with the Westar 55 Heavy Pistol.

The old model was angular and boxy while this one is more circular and streamlined, specifically the barrel of the gun.

Next to these three new guns were the standard UNSC weaponry.

MA5 Assault Rifles, SRS99-AM Sniper Rifles, M392-DMR, the M45 and M90 shotguns, M6G handguns and so on and so forth.

"Heya Lasky, there ya are."

Thomas Lasky, son of Colonel Audrey Lasky looked up from his work and saw the cheerful face of one Michael Sullivan.

"Hey Sully." Lasky said in a monotone voice, returning to his work.

" _Hey Sully."_ Sullivan parroted in amusement. "Do you have to make it sound like seeing me is a bad thing?"

Lasky smirked slightly, shaking his head as he closed the locker he was conducting inventory on to move on to the next one.

"Well, unless you're here to relieve me of my boring duty then…"

Sully only laughed. "I got something really cool to show you later."

"More of those forbidden vids?"

Sully chuckled once more, draping his arm around Lasky's shoulders. "Trust me, you're gonna wanna see it."

Lasky only nodded absent mindedly.

He eventually finished his duty and rather than going to see Sully, Lasky instead opted to go straight to his own room.

Sitting down at the desk, he brought up several files with a brand new one from his brother, First Lieutenant Cadmon Lasky.

The pride of his family, an ODST. one of the very best of the UNSC.

Opening the file, he saw the paused video of his haggard and tired looking brother yet he seemed in high spirits.

This was a stark contrast to the last video he sent in regards to the death of a squad mate and friend, Ridge. Someone that Thomas knew personally as well.

Playing the video, Thomas leaned back and listened as his brother regaled him with another one of his most recent missions.

" _Hey bro."_ Cadmon said with a slightly strained tone but more upbeat if that was possible. _"So the jungles have not been too kind but shit… we've been driving the Innies back for days now. It's fucking insane how much ground we've gotten back."_

Thomas leaned forward with clear interest as Cadmon went on.

" _We were getting hammered for a while until…"_ Cadmon then paused to look around for a brief moment before leaning into the camera in a conspiratorial manner. _"Don't know whether or not I should be talking about this but we recently got reinforcements and Bro, these guys are something else."_

'What did that mean?' Thomas asked himself internally. What wasn't he allowed to talk about?

" _So these new guys come in and they're fucking huge."_ Cadmon said exaggeratedly. _"I think one of them was like… 7 foot 2 or something like that. They were taller than some of the Wookiees we have on our squad."_

Taller than the Wookiees?

" _And Thomas… they're fucking crazy strong. And really,_ really _good at fighting."_ Cadmon said, inclining back with an awed look in his face. _"They tore apart the Innie lines like they were butter. All that ground we lost, we got back in four hours."_

By this point, Thomas was completely enraptured by this story. Just who were these people that his brother was talking about with such reverence?

As if to answer his question…

" _They didn't give us names really. Said they were uh.. Green Team and only referred to their call signs or numbers on their chests."_ Cadmon said with a thoughtful frown before brightening up. _"Oh, there was one guy. The leader of this team. Said they were simply called Spartans and we could call him Kurt. Was really friendly with a lot of the officers. Even made sure I got some extra rest after today."_

To say that Thomas was curious would be an understatement.

Just who were these… Spartans was it?

Lasky crossed his arms, momentarily pausing the video.

Spartans…

If he remembers his history correctly, Spartans were the ancient warriors of ancient Greece. They were a warrior culture, priding themselves on their battle prowess with their greatest known point in their history being the 300 Spartans that fought against the invading Persian army in the battle of Thermopylae.

A battle that is spoken of within all academies of the UNSC to this very day. Nearly 3000 years ago by this point.

He pressed resume, with Cadmon going on.

" _We've got a long few weeks ahead of us but man,"_ his brother sagged in relief. _"I feel like with these new guys, we've got a fighting chance now."_ Cadmon gave him a cheerful smile. _"Maybe I could get some leave soon to stop by and see ya buddy."_

Though the message was old, both brothers snorted simultaneously.

"Yeah _right."_ The Lasky brothers said at the same time, laughing a second later as if they were in the presence of one another.

" _So, I'll be seeing ya Thomas. Duty calls and all. Miss ya man."_ Cadmon said, ending the video shortly thereafter.

"Miss you too." Lasky said quietly to himself.

**April 26** **th**

The entire academy was in chaos.

Alarms blared, cadets were running, marines were shouting and pandemonium reigned.

What the hell was going on?

Thomas Lasky had a profoundly intimate moment just a few minutes ago with his fellow cadet Chyler Silva and now they were running towards the tether of the academy.

They had linked up with the rest of their squad, all screaming and yelling about in total confusion.

"Lasky. Chyler." A female Mon Cala with their squadmate Junjie Chen.

"Ibtisam." Chyler yelled back, the two running towards her.

"Come on you two, the rest of the squads near the entrance." Junjie said, the four running through the now increasingly crowded corridor.

Eventually, they all linked up with the entirety of Hastati Squad.

April Orenski, their squad leader with Walter Vickers, Dimah Tchakova, Michael Sullivan, Phillip Shere and Sean Kaye.

"Alright, everyone's here." April said in satisfaction though the worry for the situation at hand was written all over her face.

"What the hell is going on?" Lasky asked the million-dollar question. "Is it the Insurrection?"

"I have no idea." Sully said in obvious fear.

"Stay calm." Ibtisam said, placing a comforting hand upon Sully and Dimah's shoulders, both of whom nodded.

"What'd we do, April?" Vickers asked in a panicked tone.

"We stick together and wait online until we get to the tether." April said with Walter nodding.

Suddenly, crackling booms were heard from above making all within look up at the glass ceiling.

From the darkened clouds above, pods began falling from on high and crashing down around and within academy grounds.

Everyone then turned to look outside the windows lining the hallways and they saw armored humans and Wookiees begin to file out of the pods with their weapons drawn.

"ODST's?" Ibtisam said aloud in shock.

"What the fuck?" Walter added.

"Why are ODST's landing directly down here?" Sully asked, trembling now.

Lasky took a moment to look at his squad and then back up at the sky with only one conclusion coming to mind.

"It's because we're under attack." Lasky said, a sense of silent shock coming over Hastati squad.

"This is not good." April said.

"ODST's dropping in is never good."

They looked around at one another until Dimah spoke up.

"Guys, I can get us on that tether."

"No, we will hold our positions." April said with a tone that brokered no argument.

Dimah was about to leave them when Sully and Ibtisam grabbed her and pulled her in.

"What are you doing?" Dimah said in a scathing manner. "We can get out of her _now."_

"We're sticking together." Ibtisam said in finality.

"What she said." Sully said tone shaky but demeanor resolute.

Before Dimah could argue back, the tether doors closed with the lift going upwards. She gave them a furious look when the entire area began to shake.

Once more, all heads turned to the skies above and all saw some kind of vague outline of lights coming through the clouds.

At first, no one could identify or discern as to what they were looking at until it was made clear.

A strange ship of some kind had pierced through the clouds followed by two exact replicas just above it moments later.

These ships were unlike anything any of them had ever seen.

They were not human, nor Wookiee and certainly not Mon Cala or even Kaminoan.

In essence…

"What the hell are those things?" Lasky asked aloud in open shock.

No sooner did he ask that question did the ships do something that is quite frankly an image that would be ingrained within Lasky's mind for the rest of his life.

The large ship closest to them fired off some sort of energy beam that destroyed the Space elevator.

It swayed above them before it came crashing down and then…

They were running once more; screams heard all around.

Lasky's ears were ringing, finding himself on the ground with the rest of his squad all around him.

" _...Sky! LASKY!"_

_***THUD*** _

The Hastati squad whipped around to see a body slump down on the ground.

In front of them, the academy grounds were hazy mist of dust and debris.

Gunfire was heard all around along with… indescribable noises.

An ODST pair of a Human and a Mon Cala were backing away when they saw a figure within the mist.

It was clad in some kind of armor with certain parts glowing.

As it walked closer, a two-pronged glowing sword appeared from its hand as the bipedal creature sliced through the statue of the academy in two.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Vickers asked in terror.

"Lasky, come on." Chyler helped him up.

They all stood around with a sense of total confusion and at a loss of what to do.

"What was that?"

"I don't know."

Then, a ringing from above transformed into screams of terror.

Lasky looked up with his face turning ghostly pale as bodies, _literal bodies_ of all the people that were on the space elevator and possibly other orbiting platforms from above began _falling!_

The sickening sounds of bodies, blood and guts breaking and crumbling upon impact was sickening and enough of a motivator for them to start running again.

Hastati squad ran straight into a firefight with ODST's and marines firing and screaming all around.

"GRAAAA"

"LEFT FLANK, LEFT FLANK."

"I NEED AMM-GAK."

"WATCH YOUR SIX!"

"THEY'RE ALL OVER!"

Lasky was looking about wildly, momentarily losing his squad.

He heard his name get called out and he turned to see…

"Colonel Mehaffey." He whispered.

She was in her basic uniform with an SMG in hand.

"Lasky." She yelled out. "Get to the door! Go! G-AH!"

Suddenly, from nowhere, Mehaffey was struck by what appeared to be glowing needles.

Everything seemingly slowed down from Lasky's perspective as he watched his mentor fall to the ground. Upon hitting the floor, the needles literally exploded, taking her body along with them.

He began to look around, breathing heavily as his ears rang.

ODST's and Marines were firing from all sides at enemies that Thomas could barely make out.

He saw two Wookiee ODST's get cut down with ease by that same armored figure that sliced the academy statue.

"Thomas!"

Lasky's body jolted, Sully and Chyler by his sides.

"Come on man, we gotta go!" Sully said, pulling him along.

"Junjie?"

"Here!"

"Hastati, MOVE!" April yelled out, the entire squad reforming and running for their lives towards the dorms.

They eventually entered into the hallway with their dorms, taking refuge in Lasky's as it was the only one that was unlocked.

Once all inside, the squad took a collective breath of relief that they were alive.

"Wait." Junjie spoke up. "We're missing two?"

They looked around with them soon realizing…

"Oh fuck, where's Phillip and Sean?" Walter asked.

"They got shot down." Dimah said, shaking as she sat upon Lasky's bed. "I saw it."

They were silent, only breathing heavily when Dimah broke down into open sobs practically jumping into Sully's arm.

"Oh my God, I could've died." Dimah wept profusely into Sully's shoulder with him only holding her tightly as a few silent tears fell from the corners of his eyes.

"Colonel Mehaffey." Lasky said, expression turning green at the sight of her gory death repeatedly going over in his mind.

"It's a whole new war." Vickers said in abject dread.

"What kind of war was that?!" Ibtisam asked, shaken to her core over what they had just survived.

There was a lull of silence between them as they tried to calm themselves.

That was until a terrified scream that was quickly silenced caught their attention.

"That sounded close." Vickers went to look outside when Lasky stopped him and checked instead.

Peeking out of his room, Lasky looked down at the end of the hallway to see that bipedal armored creature with its energy sword piercing a girl.

It spoke in a language he could not understand, pulling its glowing blade out of the body and letting it slump over dead.

This…

This was undoubtedly a new alien of some kind cause it sure as hell wasn't a Wookiee or Mon Cala.

The alien looked around for a moment before it quite literally turned invisible.

Lasky backed away into his room.

"It's invisible." He whispered.

"What the hell's invisible?" Walter asked.

"One of those things is inside and it is invisible." Lasky said, raising his voice to get the message across.

The feeling of panic returned with an even stronger presence than before.

"What do we do, what'd we do?!"

"We gotta get out of here!" Lasky declared.

"What about that thing out there?" Ibtisam asked, scared beyond all measure.

"Shouldn't we stay here?" Dimah, still clinging to Sully.

"Where are we gonna go?" Junjie asked.

"No, no, no" Orenski stammered out. "We're gonna go to the training room, we're gonna get gacked up and get ourselves some weapons."

"I'll take point." Chen said straight away.

"Alright everyone." April said, with the squad moving about inside. "Get in line and get ready."

Once they were in position, April was right behind Junjie who looked outside into the hallway.

It was quiet, with no sound heard other than the ambience…

When the glass door next to their room was broken in.

"Now!" Junjie said, with the squad quickly filing out of the room and running in the direction away from the invisible threat.

They sprinted across the hallway, turning several corners until Junjie came to a halt raising his right fist up.

"Wha-?" Orenski was confused.

"JJ, why'd you stop?" Vickers asked.

Junjie Chen only stood, stock still with his breath trembling with a hot breath fogging up his glasses.

Behind him were his squadmates.

"Ru-"

Junjie was pierced by a two pronged energy sword with his body being held up into the air.

"JJ!" Vickers shouted in distraught terror.

"Run, RUN!" Ibtisam yelled with the squads fleeing for their lives as Junjie's body was dropped to ground like garbage by the invisible menace.

They miraculously made it to the training room, quickly sealing the door behind him.

April ordered Lasky and Ibtisam to get a distress beacon out while she and Chyler tried to get the weapon and armor lockers open.

They were typing in codes to get them open yet nothing happened.

"It's locked!" Chyler said in frustration. "My code isn't working!"

"What the hell." Sully cried out.

"Mayday, mayday, this is Cadets Thomas Lasky and Ibtisam. Mayday, mayday!" Lasky said frantically. "There's been an attack on Corbulo Academy, repeat, there has been an attack on Corbulo Academy. Does anyone copy?"

"Ibby?" Dimah asked in a soft, utterly terrified tone.

The Mon Cala only slammed her fist against the wall.

"There's no response or signal. Comms are down."

"I don't have access to the live rounds." April announced.

"I think the beacon tower is down as well." Thomas said in defeat.

Dimah only wept more, holding onto Sully for dear life.

"We're dead." Sully said blankly.

"No we're not." April retorted; hands raised up to her head. "Alright, there's gotta be a way out of this. Think, think, think, think."

Lasky and Ibtisam regarded the door.

"We can't stay in here, April." Ibby stated.

"We can't go out there." April shot back.

"Then what do we do?" Lasky asked when Vickers held up a tank of some kind and began bashing it into the lockers.

He kept smashing it into the lockers with the squad encouraging him on…

_***BANG*** _

They jolted into silence as they turned to the door.

_***BANG*** _

There it was again.

"Hide." April whispered.

They ran to the end of the room, Vickers breaking off to see if there was another way out.

Seeing none, he looked back to Lasky who was gesturing him over to join the rest of the squad.

_***BANG*** _

The sound of the door being struck once more made Vickers stay in his spot as they now awaited the inevitable.

_***BANG*** _

They pressed themselves up against the lockers with Lasky and Vickers looking out at the door.

_***CLANG*** _

Both hid themselves as the training room door fell to the ground.

Heavy footsteps were heard yet they couldn't see it.

Lasky kept watch while trying to remain as hidden as possible.

Nearby, there was a bit of steam coming out of a dislodged pipe from the ceiling. The steam was then blown by a breath which made Lasky tremble.

Looking back out, he and Vickers locked eyes when the door that was blown off its hinges moved. They returned to their hiding spots, frozen on the spot.

More footsteps came after, appearing to go in the direction away from them.

Lasky steeled himself, looking to the rest and nodding, gesturing his head towards the door.

They begin crawling and moving about to get closer to the door.

Once within reach, they crowded at the corner they were crouching at.

"Lasky, go for the door." Sully encouraged.

"We can't leave Vickers behind." Lasky countered.

"Where is it?" Chyler asked with Lasky laying down on the ground to see underneath the lockers.

Close by was a puddle of water… which soon had three stubs of some kind step right on it with a footprint outline of some kind.

Shooting back up, Lasky was sweating profusely now. "He's right there."

The fear was palpable amongst the group.

Sparks flew out which fell over the invisible form of this alien.

An unusual hum was heard and the group saw the glowing two pronged sword.

They then heard some sort of static followed by an unknown language with the large alien responding in kind with its own alien dialect.

It was a series of warbles and what could only be described as worts and honks.

It decloaked, revealing itself to the group of terrified cadets.

The alien was tall, possibly the same height as a Wookiee if not more so. It had unusually jointed legs and what looked like four fingered hands.

"Hey!"

The group froze as they heard Walter announce himself to the alien.

"GUYS RUN!" He shouted, readying his makeshift weapon…

Only for the alien to whip around and fire at him with its other weapon, shooting him down.

Sully cried out to him which in turn, alerted the alien to their presence.

It slowly walked around the locker that they hid behind and stared down at them.

Once more speaking in that unknown alien language, it then did something… quite scary to put it plainly.

Something that sent a chill down their spines.

It laughed.

" _ **GURK"**_

The alien then jolted; a fleshy sound of a knife piercing skin being heard from behind.

It proceeded to slump over dead and from behind was a large figure in green armor with the number 117 painted on the left side of its chest piece. Small lights turned on from the side of this figure's helmet as it turned to face them.

"We don't have much time." The armored figure spoke in a slightly gravelly voice. "Let's go."

The cadets all stared up at the… man?

Was it a man?

Cause whoever he was, he was massive.

_***CLANG*** _

_***THUD*** _

The entire group jumped in fear as they looked over at the exit to the training room in alarm.

They saw the figure of another one of the same species that this new guy took out and standing over it…

Was another large imposing armored individual that was _taller_ than the armored figure with 117 on his chest piece.

This one had identical armor on yet the helmet was different as well as the number.

034.

'Numbers on their chests.'

The words of his brother echoed through his mind.

Were these the same individuals Cadmon spoke of?

What were they called again?

Spartans?

"Found 'em Chief?" the newly arrived armored figure asked.

'Chief' just nodded.

"What's the situation outside?" 117 asked.

"Ghost town." 034 said with a shake of his head. "No survivors."

There was a momentary pause, both looking over at the cadets that had now come out of their hiding spots with one of them going over to the recently fallen Walter Vickers.

"Blue-three inform Command 034 and I have six survivors." 117 began talking into his comms. "Take your team North. Rendezvous at Evac Alpha for Pelican extraction. We'll meet you there. Blue-One out."

"How'd you find us?" Lasky asked straight away.

"The distress beacon." 117 replied.

"Why'd you come for us?" Sully inquired.

"You were the only survivors." 117 said.

"In the school?" Ibtisam asked for clarification.

"On the planet." 034 this time spoke, tone dark.

A sense of indescribable loss and horror washed over the last six survivors of Circinius IV.

They were all that was left of the _entire_ population of the planet?!

"We've got 15 minutes to get to the evac point." 117 informed them. "Armor up."

"It's… it's locked." Sully stammered out.

The two armored men shared a look before 034 proceeded to punch through the lock with ease and tossed aside the small doors to allow access to the weapons and armor.

Well, that's one way of getting past the locks.

A few moments later, the six cadets were equipped with the standard marine armor weapons in hand and sandwiched in between two gargantuan soldiers that led them down the darkened hallways of the Academy.

They were in tight formation with the lights of their weapons moving about as they were constantly looking around for anything or anyone that may pose a threat.

117 abruptly halted holding his fist up making the rest of them stop.

034 immediately went past them and stood by 117's side, the two sharing a look.

117 turned back to the cadets.

"Stay quiet." He instructed them. "Do not leave, no matter what you hear outside."

"Wait." Lasky spoke up. "Just… who are you guys?"

"034." Said the tallest of the two. "Blue-Two if you want."

"Chief-117. Or just Chief for short."

With that said, both turned and went ahead, their footsteps barely being registered by the cadets who proceeded to slouch slightly.

Ibtisam shook as she lowered her assault rifle and with her free hand leaned against a nearby wall.

Dimah basically made sure to stick to Sully who wasn't faring much better.

Chyler all but slumped down to the ground, breathing heavily.

"I knew those ONI vids were bad news." Sully muttered out.

"I don't think ONI has anything to do with _this._ " Ibby remarked with a strained tone.

"Oh God." Chyler whispered out. "Everyone…"

Dimah shuddered, stifling a sob as she shook her head and tried to gain some control over herself.

"What the hell is going on?" Sully asked, slightly panicked.

"Sully, not now." Lasky chided.

"We're following giant robots." Sully said.

"No… not robots." Lasky said, thinking of his brother's last message before all this madness.

"Spartans."

"Spartans?" April looked at him. "You know what they are?"

"I have an idea." Lasky said vaguely. "I'll tell you about it… if we get out of here."

"Are they even gonna come back?" Dimah asked in a terrified whisper.

"They'll come back." Lasky stated in an assuring manner. "I believe them."

He looked to Chyler who looked severely distraught, several tears streaming down her face.

"You ok?"

Chyler hesitated. "I don't know."

"Hey, we'll be alright." Lasky said with more conviction now.

He reached over to a helmet lying beside her and placed it on her head.

She looked up at him in fear yet he remained resolute.

"We're gonna make it outta here." Lasky promised.

"Thanks." Chyler managed out.

All the while, gunfire was heard far ahead.

"Do you think they'll be enough?" Ibby asked.

The question went unanswered until they heard a loud banging sound with heavy footsteps.

Hastati tensed up in fear until they saw the two large forms of 034 and 117 return with them slumping in relief.

"Who's the best shot here?" 117 asked.

…

"You probably." Sully answered and 034 appeared to huff in amusement.

Chief looked at the cadets, glancing down at Lasky who had just strapped on a helmet for himself.

"Chyler is." Thomas said straight away.

"I'm good." Chyler nodded.

"I am too." April said soon after.

"Cadet Lasky, can you drive a warthog?"

"Uh…" Lasky stammered. "Yeah sure."

"Anyone else?"

"I can." Ibby said. "So can Dimah."

"Good." 117 said. "There's several Warthogs and Mongooses nearby. That's where we're all headed. Shooters on the left and right, drivers in the center."

"Don't wander and stay in formation." 034 added. "Stay close to the both of us. It's your best chance for survival."

They knew this was not to be a boast but a fact.

Getting into formation, the cadets followed the two behemoths out to the now deathly quiet academy grounds.

It was a haunting sight to put it mildly.

Everywhere they looked, only the dead could be found.

Fellow students, faculty with marines and ODST's littering the ground.

There were particularly gruesome and gory splotches on the ground from poor souls that fell from above upon the initial attack.

Humans, Wookiees and Mon Cala all around them.

Dimah had to close her eyes, lip trembling as tears streamed down her face upon once again realizing she could have been one of the dead on the ground.

"Sully." Lasky spoke up in a low whisper, making Dimah look back to her roommate. "Keep up."

"Come on Sully." April added.

"Sully." Dimah reached out to grab the back collar of his outfit and tugged him along.

"Where'd they all go?" Sully asked.

Then a purple needle was embedded into Sullivan's ankle.

He yelled out in pain, looking up to the one that had shot him with everything slowing down from the perspective of two specific soldiers.

Chief had shot his arm out in time with his armor absorbing the second shot of the enemy fire, shoving Sully to the ground.

"Get down." 117 barked out. "Sam."

"On it." 034 sprang into action with Chief, the two firing rapidly at the enemies while the cadets were hiding for cover.

"Move." Chief ordered. "Get to the warthogs. We'll keep their focus on us."

Lasky caught something out of the corner of his eye, watching one of their shooters get attacked from behind.

"Chief!" Lasky shouted, pointing towards that direction.

117 looked over in time to see a shadowy figure attack one of the enemies and kill it with what looked like a bowcaster.

"Go!" 117 ordered.

The cadets began running straight for the Warthogs, seeing them in sight despite all the commotion.

Just before they could reach them, a stubby looking alien was flung down before them with a sickening crack being heard.

A moment later, a Wookiee ODST landed before them with a roar of victory.

"Holy-" Sully was promptly dragged forward by Ibby and Dimah.

"Come on. We gotta move." Ibtisam said, getting to the warthogs.

The Mon Cala quickly looked to the newly arrived Wookiee. "Can you drive?"

The Wookiee warbled in affirmation, quickly going over to the driver's seat of one of the Warthogs.

Ibby, Dimah and Sully piled in and the gun was suddenly manned by 034 who began riddling the remaining enemies with lead.

Over in the other Warthog, Lasky got into the driver's seat with April and Chyler whilst 117 manned the gun to join Blue-Two in firing at the enemies.

"Drive."

Both warthogs were floored, tires grinding up against the ground for a few moments until they began accelerating and driving away from the academy and directly into the woods.

"Where were you the whole time?" Ibtisam asked their new Wookiee companion straight away.

The Wookiee barked and growled out on how his entire squad was killed and he barely survived by retreating into the woods. He was fighting off this enemy that was apparently called the Covenant within the woods until he heard the sound of gunfire coming from the academy.

"Well you're a godsend." Ibby said a moment later.

Their warthog drove behind Lasky's, turning to follow after them as they drove down another road. 034 informed them that their exit was up ahead.

As they were driving, both 034 and the Wookiees' heads twitched, looking back behind them at the darkened forest.

"What's wrong?" Dimah asked in worry.

The Wookiee growled to stay alert with 034 now moving the gun around.

"Chief, we got trouble."

"Do you have a visual?" 117 asked from his warthog.

"Nothing yet but I'm picking up movement." 034 said, tone grim.

117 only response was to tell Lasky to drive faster.

Suddenly, on the road ahead, a glowing blue sphere was thrown into the center of their path.

Lasky had to sharply veer the warthog out of the way as the blue sphere exploded, enveloping the left side of the warthog in a strange pulse of some kind.

Gunfire erupted from the two warthogs.

"Controlled bursts." Chief yelled out. "Don't spray and pray."

Those that were able to begin firing on all sides, managing to take out most of the enemies that resided within the forest.

"Chief." 034 called out to him with 117 wordlessly moving about to fire at a large cluster that 034 himself was firing at.

"Ah dammit." Ibby cried out as multiple glowing needles struck the hood of their warthog with another few clipping the front left wheel.

Lasky looked back for a brief moment and looked back in time to see another one of those alien creatures jump at the car.

A shot went off as he rammed right into it and crushed it beneath the warthog, screeching the car to a halt as the other one had basically stopped moving.

"Man the gun." 117 ordered April with the squad leader quickly taking his place on the turret as he jumped out and ran over to the disabled warthog.

"What's the status of the hog?" Chief asked straight away.

"Trashed." 034 said succinctly, jumping down from the gun as he flicked his hand up as a silent gesture for the occupants to get out of the warthog.

Only the Wookiee remained, opting to man the unoccupied gun as Dimah and Ibby helped Sully out of the car.

Sully was assisted to a nearby tree with Chief administering Biofoam to his injury.

"This should help you walk again." 117 said.

"Or at least limp really fast." 034 added, getting a strained chuckle out of Sully.

"You know how to cheer a guy up."

There was a brief lull as they patched up Sully.

"They aren't attacking." 034 pointed out in private to 117 within their helmet comms.

Before he could respond, Lasky began shouting in a distraught manner.

"Chief! Chief! Chyler's been hit!"

117 was by Chyler's side a moment later, with him helping the gravely injured cadet out of the Warthog.

The others save for the Wookiee and 034 surrounded them a moment later.

"Chyler!" Dimah cried out fretfully.

Ibtisam held her hand with Lasky on the other.

This moment was then interrupted by the sound of scurrying and screeches from all around them.

The cadets looked about wildly, noticing that the sounds were getting distant.

"They're… retreating?" Ibtisam said aloud in confusion.

"Why would they retreat?" April asked from the gun.

"John!" 034 yelled out with all heads turning to where 034 was standing and in the distance they saw a glowing green light.

"We're being hunted." 117 said grimly. He looked up to the Wookiee on the second Warthogs turret. "What's your name?"

_Chewbacca_

"The Pelican extraction point is just ahead, North of here." 117 said. "Get these Cadets to safety."

The now identified Chewbacca grunt out, jumping from the warthog and jogging over to the Cadets who were still fretting over their gravely injured comrade.

"Let's go Sam." John said quietly to his brother, the two running toward their new foe.

Back with the cadets, the Wookiee had joined them with the sound of roars now beginning to reverberate from the directions the two Spartans ran towards.

"What do we do?" April asked with Chewbacca answering.

"North?" Dimah looked about frantically. "Which was is tha-"

_***GROOOAARRR*** _

They turned back and several of them gaped at the sight of a figure completely towering over their two saviors, standing at nearly five to six feet taller.

"Oh my God." Sully murmured out.

"Come on, we need to get out of here." Orenski said rapidly.

"Wait." Dimah said looking around. "We're near the blind."

"We are?"

"Yeah, it's on the way North."

"Lead the way, Dimah." Ibby encouraged her. "I'm right behind you."

April and Lasky placed Chylers arms around their shoulders with Chewbacca supporting Sully.

They moved as fast as they were able to, hearing gunfire and explosions going off from a distance.

Chyler moaned out in agony as they reached a stone structure with Lasky and April setting her down.

"Hang in there, Chyler." April said straight away as Lasky removed her helmet while checking over himself.

"Don't we have any more Biofoam?" he asked in desperation with the team only shaking their heads as the realization began to set in.

Lasky looked back down to Chyler who was breathing heavily and becoming paler by the second.

Wordlessly, she reached underneath her shirt and pulled out her dog tags. Tugging them off her neck, she holds them out for Lasky to take who was now having his own tears streaming down his face.

"It's ok, Tom." Chyler said kindly, voice steady despite her state. "I'm sorry."

"No." Lasky was torn. "Please."

Chylers hands became limp, falling away from Lasky.

Lasky only wept, holding on to Chylers dog tags whilst the rest had silent tears streaming down their faces.

They were so focused on Chyler, they had not realized 117 and 034 had returned.

117 had kneeled down to Lasky who barely even registered him.

"I'm sorry." Chief said sincerely.

There was a brief moment of silence until 117 returned his attention to the main problem.

"We'll need your ammo cadets; it took us everything we had to take that thing down." Chief said.

"We don't have anymore." Dimah said with a sullen tone.

Chewbacca grunted out he was empty as well, having lost his weapon.

Lasky however pulled out a grenade and held it up for Chief to take.

"Think that'll be enough?" 034 asked 117.

"We'll find out." Chief stated. "Get these cadets to the Pelican."

"What about you?" Ibtisam asked fearfully.

"I'll take care of-"

Chewbacca abruptly let out a roar for everyone to get down as a glowing green sphere impacted some of the trees nearby.

"Move, move!" 117 yelled out, the survivors scrambling to run as fast as their tired legs were able to.

Chewbacca up and hefted Sully over his shoulder with the Cadets, ODST and two Spartans running away from more explosive green spheres being lobbed at them.

They jumped over a small cliff, landing down on the ground and pressing themselves up against the dirt wall.

"Hey Kelly." 034 spoke through the comms. "Gonna need you to hold that pelican for us a bit longer."

"We're not leaving them behind." 117 said resolutely. "All of you, get ready to run for the Pelican. 034 and I will hold it off."

Before they could move, Lasky suddenly sits up and gets into a kneeling position.

"No sir… I'll be the decoy for you both."

"What?"

"Lasky, no!"

"AXIOS!" Lasky bellowed out, dashing forward at full speed.

He was running through the forest as fast as his legs were able to carry him, the sound of rumbling roar coming from behind.

Close to his right side to his back, the ground burst and shook.

Back with the others, the other creature that was pursuing them landed on the ground.

Without waiting, the two Spartans ran forward just as the giant alien fired its literal arm cannon at the running cadet.

It then surprised the two, swinging its large armored arm at them both and striking them away.

It then turned back to Lasky who was still running and prepared to fire.

However, the Spartans were on it once more with 034 pouncing on its shield arm and in a display of herculean strength held it down allowing for 117 to run up the arm.

The arm cannon fired another energy sphere in the meantime.

Chief kneed the head upon reaching it and maneuvered around the bulky frame of the alien and then shoved the primed grenade in between the exposed flesh.

The creature warbled, flinging 034 off of it before it blew up into thousands of fleshy chunks and blood.

The cadets gaped in shock save for April and Sully that were rushing over to the unmoving form of Lasky.

They rolled him onto his back, yelling and shaking him in hopes of getting a response.

His eyes suddenly opened, with him inhaling sharply and coughing.

"Oh thank God." Sully said, helping his friend up to his feet while the others joined in just as they heard the sound of engines flaring close by.

"There's our ride." 117 announced.

The group soon ran out of the forest into a clearing and saw a Pelican awaiting them with

Two more armored figures and two marines having a perimeter around the Pelican.

One of the armored figures that had the number 087 on the left side of its chest piece approached 117 and 034.

"We have six survivors." 117 said.

"I've alerted command." Was her response.

"Let's get out of here." 034 said, getting no objections out of his teammates with everyone piling into the Pelican.

Once all were inside, the ship ascended into the air and flew off.

As they got higher into the sky, the survivors of the academy looked out the yet to be closed hatch of the pelican and saw the horrific sight of the planet being burnt to glass before them.

The last of the Hastati squad all sat opposite the four armored individuals with Chewbacca opting to sit with them.

Lasky had his elbows leaning against his knees with April's glazed eyes staring out at the destruction below.

Dimah opted to lean her upper body entirely onto Sully's legs with him wordlessly taking her hand and both held onto each other tightly.

Ibtisam simply inclined her head back and began breathing as a means of trying to calm herself down after the nonstop adrenaline rush for the past few hours.

Chewbacca slouched forward, face in his hands as he trembled.

The cadets stared at him momentarily realizing that he, like them, had lost everyone he had known because of this attack.

They still had each other but this ODST was alone.

Everyone sat in silence for the most part until 087 reached for her helmet and took it off, a small hiss being heard.

The Cadets stared in bewilderment at the brown haired, blue eyed and pale skinned young girl before them.

A moment later, 104 had done the same, revealing a similar pale complexion having black hair with bluish-green eyes.

They looked no older than them for the most part.

Both turned to 034 and 117 who opted to keep their helmets on.

"H-" Sully stammered slightly. "How old are all of you?"

"That's classified." 087 said, almost robotically.

"Huh." Sully said, simply accepting that answer and pressing his head back against the wall while Dimah closed her eyes.

Lasky had sat back up, sighing tiredly and looked up at the armored figure opposite to him.

117.

The large man looked at the cadet and wordlessly held out something for Lasky to take.

Holding out his hand, Chief dropped a piece of some kind that Lasky realized came from the large alien that 117 and 034 had slain during his distraction.

"Well done, Soldier." Was all Chief said, making Lasky look upon him in slight awe.

It soon morphed into one of steeled conviction and determination.

One that held the silent promise for Lasky that he would not ever let this go or take what had happened here in vain or for granted.

He would prove that he would indeed live up to Corbulos academy's motto.

Axios.

I am Worthy.

**May 3rd**

_Journal Entry XII_

_Looking back, there were years that always stood out from the others._

_And when I do, the first five years I always see as nothing more than a prelude._

_These opening years were just the first act._

_The buildup for the ground swell of madness that would come at the start of the next decade._

_Looking back, I recall the innovation this year had for the way we waged war along with our own advancements._

_Alec Ryder… It's strange when I speak of people whom I consider friends but had it not been for my work with Alec, we would not be where we are today._

_Our work with AI had at long last bore fruit with most if not all of the current AI the UNSC has created stemming directly from our work on this day on the third of May in 2526._

_The expansion of AI lifespans from seven to ten years was groundbreaking giving rise to many standouts for the war that followed._

_Versatility and creativity was greatly enhanced along with a whole host of other capabilities that would benefit the UNSC for decades to come._

_One of the few early highlights of the war._

_I wish we had more during those days._

_End of Journal Entry._

**October 21st**

Admiral Raddus clenched his chair tightly, eyes narrowed as he analyzed the collection of Covenant ships before him.

There were twelve in total, compared to his fleet of forty ships.

He sat within Viscount-Class Star Defender named the UNSC Torrent.

Accompanying him were four Valiant-Class Super Heavy Cruisers, ten Wookiee designed Kumauri battleships between 800 to 1200 meters, five MC80 Liberty class star cruisers at 1.5 kilometers each, ten Sphyra-class Hammerhead corvettes ranging between 500 to 900 meters, and ten newly serviced Paris-Class frigate at five to six hundred meters each.

Facing this assemblage of ships was a Covenant fleet composed of three CAS-class assault carriers, four SDV-class Heavy Corvettes and five CRS-class light cruisers.

Their twelve to the UNSC's forty.

And Raddus knew that this was hopefully as evenly matched as it could be.

These Covenant ships have the unfortunately distinct advantage of being shielded where they only had titanium and metals that could only hold back the barrage of plasma for so long.

"This is Admiral Raddus of the Third Fleet. All starfighters and battlegroups report in."

He heard the growling of Wookiee battle group Beta call in from their starships.

The hammerhead corvette followed with the MC80 Liberty ships shortly after with Paris class frigates a moment later.

"This Gold Leader, Standing by."

"This is Red Leader, standing by."

"This is Blue Leader, standing by."

"This is Yoru Leader, standing by."

Narrowing his eyes, he watched as the Covenant ships drew near.

"Gold and Yoru Squadrons defend the fleet. Red and Blue Squadrons, engage the Covenant and clear a path for our starships."

"Copy that Admiral, this is Red Leader moving to engage."

"This is Blue Leader, moving to engage."

Raddus watched as upwards of three dozen starfighters composed of X-wings, A-wings, Y-wings and D-wings all flew headfirst into the Covenant fleet.

Plasma, lead and gauss began being fired all over the place with the UNSC starships launching missiles, firing up turrets and priming their Railguns and MAC cannons.

The Covenant cruisers moved in to engage the UNSC frigates.

Though they were comparably smaller in size, their plasma technology proved more than enough of an equalizer as it simply burned through the hulls of the frigates.

Gold squadron flew in to even the odds, harrying the ships as they flew under their shields and fired at specific locations on the ship.

Firing missiles and modified Gauss cannon that can rapidly fire, the starfighters whittled down the Cruisers defenses allowing for the frigates to angle themselves and fire their MACs.

However, it appeared that the Covenant had come prepared with their own set of starfighters sending out the Seraphs and the now identified Geonosian or Beak Wing Starfighter.

The ships flew in between one another, entering into fierce dogfights but once again, the UNSC had the upper edge with their pilots outmaneuvering and besting the Covenant fighters. If not for the cruisers adding additional fire power, the Starfighters would have taken less losses.

Raddus cursed under his breath, cursing both the UNSC's unfortunate luck and the Covenant's advanced plasma technology as he watched four frigates get torn apart by the cruisers.

If not for the Super heavy cruisers coming in to take out the remainder of the cruisers though two managed to branch away to get into the safety of the much larger and more imposing Covenant ships.

The battle was now engaged in earnest with Raddus coordinating attack patterns and strategies while suffering several more losses.

Three Kumauri ships were destroyed as well as two Hammerhead corvettes.

Though the UNSC was experiencing losses, the battle was still firmly in their favor.

They had taken out all five of the cruisers and one of the Heavy Corvettes which meant the Covenant fleet was at half strength.

Still, thirteen ships for Six was not a trade Raddus was proud of.

He sorely wished for the Supercarriers right about now as he recalled how Cole's were one hit kills for the UNSC at the retaking of Harvest earlier this year.

But he wasn't an Admiral for nothing.

Setting up a makeshift strategy, he had one of the Hammerhead Corvette that was severely damaged and on the verge of being destroyed and evacuated any survivors that it had.

The Dumb AI upon this damaged Corvette was then to make sure the thrusters were on full power and to guide itself directly into a Heavy Corvette.

Within the Hammerhead Corvette that would be colliding with the Covenant Corvette, all of its nukes were primed and ready to set off.

The Hammerhead smashed headfirst into the SDV and its thrusters flared at full power.

This Corvette was targeted in particular as a Y-wing bombing run had disabled its engines, leaving it floating aimlessly in the vacuum.

The Hammerhead began pushing the Corvette…

Straight into the path of one of the CAS assault carriers.

The large ship began firing with all of its defenses in an attempt to either stop the hammerhead or destroy the disabled corvette. Yet from UNSC starfighters destroying those defenses or them being unable to respond in time, the two corvette collided with the carrier.

A moment later, the nukes within the Hammerhead detonated, completely destroying all three ships.

The Covenant now had only four ships.

And they were the most powerful that they had.

But Admiral Cole had come to the conclusion before that overwhelming firepower is to be the best strategy against the Covenant. One that Raddus would employ with aggressive zeal.

The starfighters and support starships moved in to begin firing everything they had upon the remaining ships of the Covenant.

Raddus had his Viscount Star Defender move in, readying it's M1000 Railgun, aligning itself at the front of the closest CAS Assault Carrier.

The Mon Cala Admiral had his eyes trained against the shields of the carrier that were flaring up by the continuous barrage that it endured.

…

Until he saw it.

That brief flicker of the shields weakening and faltering under the prolonged fire.

"FIRE!" Raddus yelled aloud and the Torrents Railgun shot out the single glowing white shot that punctured a hole straight through the Assault Carrier.

The shield around it died out and the ships that were firing at it now had nothing to stop their onslaught.

This went on for the rest of the battle, having lost three more ships along the way until at long last…

The Battle of Alpha Aurigae was won by Admiral Raddus of the UNSC.

**December 25th**

_Biko_

It was Christmas day on the colony world of Biko.

Normally, there would be a largely festive feeling in the air despite the Rebel presence that had remained at large on the planet.

But for some reason, an unusual tension permeated the planet.

The Rebel front, while active still, had drastically reduced their attacks and campaign against the UNSC militia garrisoned here under Biko's Chancellor.

As a matter of fact, a majority of the soldiers on Biko were exceptionally tense.

They hardly spoke to any civilian nowadays and were acting as though an attack was coming.

Not just any ordinary attack, judging by their demeanors.

But one that could single handedly decimate whatever it was Biko had in terms of military might.

However, these thoughts and concerns weren't really in the mind of one six year old girl going towards a house with her mother and two year old baby sister.

She held her mother's hand with one hand while the other was carrying a small bag.

Within the other arm of her mother was her baby sister.

Somehow, the mother was managing half a dozen bags in her arms while holding both her daughters.

Eventually the trio of girls arrived at the two story house they had been walking towards the entire time.

The six years old mother knocked on the door and a moment later, it opened to reveal another woman who had a beaming smile upon her face.

"Wanda!"

"Janet." her mother said kindly, letting go of her daughter's hand to embrace the other woman.

Once pulling back, she kissed her two year old sister on the cheek before looking down at her with a wide smile.

"Miranda."

"Hi Auntie Janet." Miranda Lawson said cheerfully before laughing as she was scooped up in her arms.

Carrying her inside the house, it was filled with several other people who were all busy either cooking or talking with one another while setting a large table.

"Wanda, Miri, Ori." A man stepped away from the kitchen with a broad smile. "So glad you guys made it. Bowie, can you take over?"

"Rawr."

The man walked over to them, hugging Miranda and Janet followed by Wanda and her little sister Oriana.

"Hi uncle Reggie." Miranda said cheerfully.

"How are my favorite little nieces doing?" Reggie asked, ruffling her hair much to her annoyance making him laugh.

Setting the two girls down, the adults got to talking while Miranda walked towards the back of the house with Oriana in tow.

She knew exactly where to go, walking out into the backyard.

There, she saw a young boy her age sitting on a homemade porch swing looking up at the night sky.

"Carter." Miranda said happily, making the boy turn to her and smile brightly at her.

"Hey Miranda." Carter said with a calm voice, hopping down from the porch swing in time for Miranda to give him a tight hug.

He reciprocated the gesture with Oriana moving in to join a moment later.

"Merry Christmas." Miranda said happily, holding out her small bag from her hands with her friend only to grin.

He took the bag out of her hands and placed it on the porch swing with Miri spotting a small box resting there.

"Dad helped me make this for you." Carter said, taking the box and holding it out for her.

Opening the box, she saw it was a carved metal necklace into the zodiac sign of Leo and an emblazoned M.

"Wow." Miri said with wide eyed awe.

Carter's grin grew at seeing how taken his best friend was with the gift, going over to hop on the porch swing with Ori and Miri joining him.

The trio of kids sat upon the porch swing, looking up at the stars.

As the kids and their families celebrated the holidays…

They all remained blissfully unaware of the raging war that was playing out across the stars.

The war that would one day reach them.

But until that time, Miranda and Carter would continue living out their lives in peace on Biko.

**Hey guys.**

**Yeah this was a bit of a long one considering it covered a year.**

**You guys have no idea how much longer it was originally intended to be. Like a solid… ten to maybe fifteen thousand words bigger.**

**I was gonna cover the main big battles and events in greater explicit detail but that would mean I'd be on this chapter for another solid month.**

**BSX and I want to get this up to a solid ten chapters before returning to our work on Spirit Unto Dawn.**

**We've both been very busy on our ends with other stories and ideas, him with Tales of Infinite Wars and me with Infinite Wars proper.**

**There's also the stories I work on with Jebest4781, both current and in development.**

**Lot has happened since I last updated this story.**

**Mass Effect trilogy remaster coming soon on top of Halo Infinite being delayed being the main two that strictly are associated with this story.**

**But the big one is, as you all are aware of, is the passing of the phenomenal actor Chadwick Boseman.**

**It is a great tragedy and loss that will be felt for us nerds the world over.**

**I have written out a proper tribute to him on Infinite Wars Chapter 44 with Jebest, so please check it out. RIP Chadwick, Wakanda Forever.**

**Other than that, there's a lot of reviews that I want to answer but that would lead to spoilers so gonna need to hold off on that.**

**There's a lot of awesome shit that BSX and I have planned out in the coming chapters once we kick it into high gear.**

**You might as well consider these ten chapters as a long set up cause shit is gonna go down once things start popping off. I just wish I could write at breakneck speeds every time I sat down at a computer.**

**Writer's block. It's a curse.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


	9. Much To Do

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 9: Much To Do.

**2527/2171**

_The Citadel_

Within the Citadel Tower, the centerpiece of this giant alien structure, eight individual politicians were all gathered within a room seated around a circular table.

Within the seats were all the counselors that represented the races of the Citadel.

Well… those who have been awarded a seat on the council.

Occupying the seats were a Togruta, a Twi'lek, an Asari, a Zeltron, a Turian, Salarian, Duros and Kel-Dorian.

"So, are we all in agreement then?" The Duros Counselor asked, looking around the table.

"This is rather ambitious." The Salarian Councilor stated, crossing his arms in thought. "How many do you figure would be the appropriate number for such an endeavor?"

"We have already sent out a number of invitations and assignments for this expedition." Shaak-Ti, the Togrutan representative replied.

"We are taking no chances in this regard." The Asari Councilor, Tevos, declared. "After the Yahg debacle, we must not allow for such a tragedy to occur again."

"On that much we agree." Sparatus, the brand new Turian Councilor said with a nod. "But I must admit… the amount of individuals for this does seem a tad excessive."

"What's this? Are you losing your luster already, Sparatus?" Gnost-Dural, the Kel-Dor Councilor, inquired in amusement.

Sparatus stammered with his words, slamming his hands down emphatically.

"I just wish to exercise caution is all." He argued. "No need to rush so blindly into the unknown."

"We do need to make sure they are well prepared for such a journey." Leonie, the Zeltron Councilor said with a concerned expression. "I do not wish to lose our best and brightest so suddenly."

"We shall not allow for such a matter to occur." The Duros Councilor stated, tone firm and resolute. "With everything we have reviewed and studied, this will be our most ambitious work of our time. This force shall be going on this expedition for years. We shall not fail in this mission."

"Is everything accounted for then?" Leontyne, the Twi'lek representative inquired.

"For the most part." The Salarian councilor replied. "While our roster has been accounted for, for the most part, there are still ranks that need to be filled out, proper numbers, specific personnel, equipment, ships…"

As the Salarian Councilor rambled on, the others went back to the files that they all had, half listening to what the amphibious Councilor was talking about.

They were continually adding, removing and reviewing the large set of doctrines, rules and regulations for the upcoming foray into the unexplored regions of their galaxy.

No expense would be spared.

They would put their best and strongest foot forward.

After the Yahg, the Rachni and the Krogan, they would always make sure to display a strong front.

Gnost-Dural once said it best.

Leaders should not seek out conflict or war but must always be ready for it.

As the leaders of the Citadel continued their long planning stages, across their controlled regions of space, several areas were well underway in terms of preparations.

Certain planets and corporations were handpicked by the Council members to begin construction of ships, weapons, tools, kits, gathering of anything and everything that would be used for this expedition.

Multiple men and women from all the species under the Citadel were working hard on all sides.

Engineers were making state of the art ships.

Scientists were conducting various tests and experiments.

Soldiers were trained and performing routine ops to keep their senses and skills sharp.

Financial experts were keeping the flow of credits steady while making sure the Citadel economy remained stable.

Though it had yet to be announced, Citadel space was buzzing with activity.

_Citadel Biotics Academy._

A lone Kel-Dor sage sat alone inside a room, cross-legged with his wrists resting upon his knees.

The Sage was breathing at a slow rate, inhaling and exhaling in a practiced manner.

Around his form, the air bent around him with the aura of his biotics surrounding his body. It slowly began moving outward to the circle of what appeared to be pebbles around him.

Inclining his head down, the Sage curled his hands into tight fists as his breathing slowed with his Biotics beginning to flare up.

The Biotic field began to ripple more in the air, expanding outward until it ensnared the pebbles around the Kel-Dor Sage.

Slowly, the pebbles trembled until they began levitating up off the ground with the Sage joining a moment later.

There, he levitated above the floor for a prolonged period of time with the pebbles surrounding him constantly rotating around his body. His Biotic field emanated in a perfect sphere until at long last, he began to feel the strain of his Biotics after such a concentrated and prolonged use.

Exhaling, the Kel-Dor Sage lowered himself back down onto the ground with the pebbles settling on the floor as they were from the start.

Rising to his feet, he looked over to see the entrance to this meditation room and in walked a blue skinned Twi'lek.

"Ah, Master Plo." The Twi'lek greeted. "I hope I am not disturbing you."

"Not at all, Aayla." Plo Koon waved off calmly. "I had just finished my meditation a moment ago."

He removed his mask for a moment to take a drink of water to refresh himself whilst Aayla opted to sit where her mentor sat a moment ago.

"What can I do for you, Aayla?" Koon asked after wiping away some sweat that had built up during his meditation. "Is there something troubling you?"

"Not troubling per say, Plo." Aayla said. "Just something I have been thinking about for a few days now."

"And what would that be?" Plo asked, beginning to brew a Kel-Dorian hot drink.

Aayla looked down upon the floor for a brief moment with a moment of hesitation.

"Well… I have recently been offered something quite… big, so to speak." Aayla began, trying to figure out how to properly phrase it.

Plo turned to her with an expectant demeanor to him.

"Are you perhaps referring to the Exploratory Expedition that is currently in the works right now?" Plo inquired, making Aayla blink in surprise.

"You were also offered?" Aayla asked with Plo nodding.

"And I have already accepted it."

"Really?" Aayla was certainly not expecting this… though at the same time, he is the premiere Biotic user in the galaxy.

Most _everyone_ especially Biotic users know of the name of Grand Master Plo Koon. When it came to Grand Masters, the entire galaxy was aware of your skills and reputation. It comes with the title.

One doesn't become a Grand Master by inheritance. Since the Kel-Dor people brought their extensive knowledge and understanding of Biotics to the rest of Citadel space, there had been a number of Grand Masters that have come and gone each with their own legacy and teachings that were used well after they had either died or stepped down.

Great Masters such as the Salarian Lamor who created the exceptionally difficult ability of utilizing Biotics in a healing manner, a technique _very_ few are able to utilize.

Or the Zeltron Grand Master Kiess Conius, advancing the concept of the ability of Biotic bonds wherein one can link themselves with those who don't have the capacity for Biotics.

And now, the latest Grand Master Plo Koon who had at long last mastered the fabled and apparently lost technique of Biotic lightning.

"What do you make of it, Master Plo?" Aayla asked inquisitively.

The Kel-Dor Sage hummed to himself, finishing his drink and pouring it into two cups. Picking them both up, he went over to his former student, holding out the cup for her to take which she accepted graciously.

"I believe it is an opportunity of a lifetime." Plo stated, seating himself in front of Aayla. "The concept of exploration is one that is fundamental to a Biotic Sage. It is an ever changing flow where one must constantly absorb new knowledge that will eventually come to benefit all."

Aayla relaxed slightly, taking a sip of her drink.

"What about you, Secura?" Plo asked softly. "It appears to be weighing on your mind heavily."

The Twi'lek Biotic contemplated for a brief moment. This was something that had been taking up much of her time, being a bit of a distraction from her usual duties and training within the Academy.

The way it was presented to her was rather unusual and vague. It was simply an asari that walked right up to her and told her to keep silent about this until told otherwise.

"I guess my main problem Master Plo is why did they choose me." Aayla stated after several seconds of thought.

"Hmm?" Plo gazed upon her. "And this troubles you?"

"Somewhat." She admitted. "This expedition… it's a massive undertaking from what I have been able to see."

"

"Indeed it is." Plo nodded. "The planning stages have revealed that much."

"Do you think three years is enough time?" Aayla asked.

"Perhaps this has been in preparation for longer than we had known and were only now just learning about it." Plo remarked. "But you didn't answer my question properly, Aayla. Why is it that you being chosen for this expedition bothers you so?"

The Twi'lek went silent, gazing down at the drink in her hand as the steam slowly wafted up from the cup.

When she was approached for this Expedition, it certainly caught her off guard and surprised her greatly. This was a monumental task and she was selected as among the first of many.

At the age of 337, she was still a maiden for all intents and purposes, being only thirteen more years of finally entering the matron stage of a TTAZ lifetime.

"I guess… I'm surprised I was even considered at all." Aayla finally said after a few seconds. "This seems like something that requires the best of the best if we're venturing out into the unknown like this."

What could be considered Plo's brow visibly rose.

"And you believe yourself unworthy of being chosen for this opportunity." The Kel-Dor stated rather than questioned.

"I am still only a maiden, Master Plo." Aayla said.

"With two hundred years of being a TTAZ ranger and ten being my pupil." Plo countered earning a gracious smile from her.

"Yes but…"

"Aayla." Plo spoke softly, baritone voice cutting through her thoughts. "This endeavor by the Citadel is one that requires the best that our galaxy has to offer. And the Citadel Council has recognized you as being among them."

Aayla frowned, still unsure of this with Plo now realizing he's going to have to pull out the big guns.

"Alright." Plo nodded. "I see how it is."

His former pupil gazed up at him in bewilderment.

"It appears _you_ need reminding of just who it is _you_ are." Plo said with him rising up to his feet. "You are _Aayla Secura_ , Master of the Biotic arts and one of my finest students that I have had the privilege to teach within this academy. You may not believe you are special but your name will one day be etched within these academy walls and your actions shall be known until time itself is ripped asunder."

The Twi'lek Biotic could only stare up at her old master, gaping slightly at his rather dramatic proclamation.

"And you're time to make your name known throughout the stars is coming." Plo held out his hand for her to take which she did. "Now stand and hold your head up high. When the time comes, you will be among the first to journey out into the unknown. There will be a great weight upon your shoulders but you are my student. Which means I know you will be performing in an exemplary manner when the time comes."

The Twi'lek couldn't help but find herself gaping at the Grand Master who gazed down upon her expectantly.

No sooner did she begin to giggle, rising up from the floor with a happy smile now present.

"Alright Master Plo, I won't let you down."

Plo gave off a rumbling chuckle. "I believe it is more important that you do not let yourself down. Now come, it may be years off but we must begin preparing in our own manner."

"Yes Master." Aayla said with a bow of her head, following after the Kel-Dor to the training grounds.

_-Scene Cut-_

"Whew." A Zeltron with blue hair and light pink skin wiped some sweat from her brow as she resumed her work on welding together two panels while sitting atop the skeletal structure of a ship currently under construction.

Testing the metal by giving both ends several tugs and pulls, she gave a satisfying nod before moving on to the next set.

"Hey Deliah."

The Zeltron halted in her work, looking over to see a Turian with red facial markings on his face.

"Come on down, break time." He called up to her.

"I'll be down in a bit, Veltius." Deliah Blue, a Zeltron and one of the chief engineers that have been recruited for the Exploratory Expeditionary Force.

Upon accepting the offer, Blue was swiftly transferred off of the Citadel and on the shipyards of Ryloth.

She had been here for about a few months by this point, constantly working from one ship to another across the shipyards of Ryloth.

The colony world she currently resided on was one of the very first that the TTAZ race had ever colonized, having a long history with her people.

Aside from it being one of the most resource rich worlds in terms of minerals and metals, Ryloth, like the other colony world of Shili has been known to have a habit of producing especially tough TTAZ.

Though Blue was born on Zeltros, she was raised here on Ryloth by her mother.

At a "young" age, Deliah took a natural inclination toward engineering, having begun work on creating her own small engine at one point before her mother had sent her off to be taught properly.

She soon excelled in her field of expertise, having had many teachers in her 200 years of life.

Still in her youthful maiden years, Blue spent the majority of her decades on the out and about, drifting from system to system and accumulating a wealth of knowledge in terms of ships, machines, weapons and anything else that requires a steady hand and a lot of patience. From Mass Effect cores to engine thrusters and life support systems, Delilah Blue made sure to learn every nook, cranny and bolt of every ship and vessel she sailed upon.

Though she wore somewhat revealing attire, stitched on to the vest she always wore was an intricately sewn silk hood.

This was a personal possession of hers from the Quarian who taught her how to understand every single aspect of a ship to a micro level. She had perished two decades ago unfortunately but Deliah made sure to keep to what her fallen friend and mentor had taught her and to use it in every way she can.

Currently it was for the construction of a particularly large ship that would form as the flagship for the Expeditionary force.

It was to be called the Spire, a long cylindrical ship with backend having the small fins that most TTAZ ships possess. Of all the ships within Citadel space, this was to be the largest they had ever constructed.

2.1 kilometers long.

A ship that took the combined efforts of five of the council races and the client races.

This would be larger than the strongest warship the Citadel possesses, the Destiny Ascension.

Deliah snorted to herself at the thought of that.

As an expert in ship engineering, large and powerful as the Ascension was, Blue had learned to have a keen eye as to who really holds the military naval power between the Council races.

While the Kel-Dor have a strong foothold with a diverse array of ships, in terms of naval might, ingenuity and superiority in combat, it's a tie between the Duros and The Turians.

Both species have a natural inclination towards naval combat and tactics, with both possessing the largest of the fleets of the Citadel races. The Kel-Dor are a close second and have been hard at work in trying to strengthen their fleets for the coming Expedition.

They, along with the Duros, had even unveiled a brand new ship line.

The brand new 300 meter Pelta-Class frigates would be entering service at the start of the Expedition in three years' time. It was a multi-rolled ship made for light combat, escort and a freighter of sorts that would carry large quantities of supplies.

Along with the Pelta-Class frigate was the Duros Munificent-Class Star Heavy frigate. Much larger in size, above 500 meters longer then the Pelta-class, this frigate was designed for combat and troop transportation.

_***Grumble*** _

Delilah rubbed her stomach, now realizing just how hungry she was after working on the ships for such a long time.

"Geez, Veltius is right." Delilah remarked. "I do get absorbed in my work sometimes."

Hopping down from her spot atop the ship, she began walking over to the outside cafeteria that had been set up.

There, she saw a multitude of species from all the Citadel sitting down to eat for the evening.

Over to the right of the area, Deliah spotted a trio of an Asari, a Kel-Dor and a Duros who were deep in discussion between one another all having either a datapad or their Omni-tools out.

These three were among the seven primary leaders that would oversee the entirety of the Expedition from their distinct positions.

The Duros of the group was Nensel Jul, the Leader of the Expedition. An expert in navigation and star charts, Nensel has long since been an advocate on going out into the unexplored regions of the galaxy. For years, he had worked with many individuals who shared his dream and ambition in striking out into the unknown having also constantly harassed the council. He had explored several undiscovered regions within Duros and Salarian space itself with his knowledge of star maps and the old Duros phrase of "Galactic wind". He had also worked with the head of the science division for the Expedition, Lumont Hayjer, a Salarian in charting out the ideal path for them to take when branching out into the unexplored regions.

Second to Nensel was the newly appointed title of Pathfinder, the frontline lead explorer of the Expedition. Our Pathfinder is an Asari Matriarch of 797 years old, turning 800 on the year the expedition was to launch. Matriarch Ishara is a veteran Ranger who was a graduate of the Sage academy who held a long history of combat before turning inwards for self-reflection and evaluation. For nearly two centuries, she spent a majority of her time meditating, learning and instructing many on the abilities of Biotics in various Academies across Citadel Space. A wise and aged Matriarch who has seen and accomplished much in her many centuries.

To her right was the Kel-Dor Naval Admiral Hetchkee who was to be the overall naval commander first the Expedition. A Biotic sage with exceptional piloting skills, Hetchkee was personally selected by Nensel as he had worked with him in the past before. A trained Biotic Master, Hetchkee's true calling has always been in a ship, leading in his personalized ship of the Liberator Class starfighter. Having been a part of the Kel-Dor navy for a majority of his life with 20 years of experience, Hetchkee was the ideal candidate to lead the naval division of the Expedition.

These three had been here since the announcement of the Expedition, planning, coordinating, recruiting and so on and so forth in preparation until the time came for their journey into the unknown.

Seating herself at a table, Deliah dug into her meal at a casual pace, not really minding the flavor much.

Not much to begin with really.

She should really consider packing her own lunches by this point.

As she dug into her food, Deliah took a moment to observe the group of people that had been brought on for this endeavor.

It was large to say the least, with engineers, soldiers, scientists and individuals of many skills being present.

Blue figured this would be a large undertaking, going out into the unknown. Naturally, they'd want the best to be a part of this experience. Though she herself is finding it hard to believe why they'd choose her of all people.

She's still in her maiden stages of her TTAZ lifetime and yet she was among those that have been chosen for this great venture toward the rest of the galaxy.

It was quite the surprise to be sure.

She was on the Citadel in the middle of a job when she was recruited.

Now she was on Ryloth helping prepare for the biggest undertaking in her and many others lives.

While eating, Deliah's mind began to wander, thinking of the great expanse of the unknown that they would go towards in the coming years.

What life would they find out there?

What species?

What technology?

Their culture, languages, way of life.

All of it was so tantalizingly close and yet oh so far.

A more sensual thought went through her mind, briefly fantasizing of perhaps encountering new aliens that may be quite handsome. The idea of meeting new species that would lead to an interspecies romance and affair would be quite the exotic experience.

Giggling to herself, Blue resumed her meal, her mind continuing to swirl with thoughts of what is waiting for them out there.

_-Scene Cut-_

_-The Citadel-_

He was inspecting his rifle that had just gotten a bit of an upgrade, testing the feel and looking through the scope several times to be sure.

"Spirits Lindros, you never fail to impress."

"You're one of my valued customers, Nihlus." The Turian weaponsmith Lindros responded with his arms crossed. "Gotta make sure I keep up to date with the best."

"And I greatly appreciate it." Nihlus declared, the gun shrinking down and being placed on his back.

The credits were exchanged along with goodbyes and Nihlus departed.

He let out a sigh of satisfaction as he had finally returned from yet another mission with this one being much more enjoyable then the last.

Rol-Nak, an old Kel-Dorian friend of his had finished conducting his training op with him and was soon to be nominated as a new Spectre.

The mission went off without a hitch, a quick two man bust of a slaving operation within Kel-Dor/Turian shared space.

No casualties with the duo being able to successfully rescue those that had been captured by these slaver scum.

If only they could do the same for the rest of Batarian space.

Those four-eyed slaving bastards have had their Hegemony untouched for the majority of these past few centuries and it was honestly rather infuriating. They had the manpower, the want and the need to take on this scum yet the council had chosen to allow them to fester in their squalor.

Bringing down the Batarian Hegemony was always a personal ambition of Nihlus, one he hoped would eventually see the light of day.

Who knows, maybe there is a species out there that can have the quads to do what needs to be done.

One can dream.

As he continued walking through the streets of the Citadel, a familiar voice from behind gained his attention.

"Well, well. Nihlus, glad to see you're back."

The Turian Spectre turned to see a familiar face, his face breaking out into his species equivalent of a grin.

"Saren!" Nihlus said aloud, walking over to his fellow Spectre, the two grasping arms in firm shake. "Spirits, I haven't seen you in months. Where have you been?"

"Spectre business." Saren remarked with a knowing tone. "You know how they tend to be."

Nihlus could only nod in understanding.

While he and Saren were Spectres, they operated completely independently for the most part as most Spectres tended to do.

Among the Spectres, there is no true ranking among them.

At best, those with the most experience are the ones that are considered to have higher "positions" and "ranks" amongst Spectres.

Other than that, all Spectres operated with full autonomy, answering only to the Council.

"So how long do you figure you'll be back on the Citadel for?" Nihlus questioned, the two walking side by side.

Saren shrugged. "Not entirely sure, truth be told. I was planning on seeing Desolas who is stopping by the Citadel himself."

"Desolas is stopping by?" Nihlus said in surprise. "For what purpose?"

"I think you might have an idea." Saren remarked, looking at his fellow Spectre out of the corner of his eye.

Nihlus only hummed candidly in response.

"And what would you think that would be?"

Saren 'hmphed' in amusement, taking a moment to make sure they were enough distance away from people.

"I've been hearing some interesting facts about this Exploratory Force and their plans in foraying into the unknown regions of the galaxy."

"So you have heard of it."

"Nihlus, what Spectre hasn't heard or even has an inkling of an idea as to what's transpiring." Saren rhetorically countered. "I'm astonished it hasn't been built up to such a maddening degree."

"They did speak on keeping this matter on a need to know basis until the right time." Nihlus stated. "Last I checked, they intend on letting the public know within the coming months."

The face painted Turian Spectre let out a thoughtful hum.

"If your brother has been called in, I may have an idea as to what they will ask of him."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

Nihlus gestured his head in the direction of an eating establishment with Saren following after him. They were given a separate table that was isolated enough where they can speak openly enough without anybody overhearing.

Once seated, Nihlus picked up where he left off.

"The Council has decided not to take any chances once this Expedition is underway." Nihlus said, elbows propped up on the table with his fingers interlaced together. "Councilors Gnost-Dural, Shaak-Ti, Donwal and Leontyne have agreed that after the last few species we had first contact with ended disastrously, they will not be caught off guard again. They're selecting the best for this Expedition. Not just scientists and explorers. But soldiers, naval personnel, pilots, the works."

"I see they've finally learned their lesson after the last few disastrous encounters with lesser species." Saren said derisively.

Nihlus silently looked down to take a bit out of his meal that had been placed before him.

"I wouldn't call it all disastrous." Nihlus said. "Save for the Yahg and Rachni, we have good first contact meetings for the most part."

"You would consider the Quarians, Krogan and Batarians among them?" Saren asked rhetorically.

"You know it's not as simple as you make it out to be." Nihlus countered. "The Krogan were done before our time and the Quarians were abandoned by us. The Batarians however… they could rot for all I care."

"You're willing to overlook the Quarians for unleashing the Geth upon the galaxy?"

"We could have helped them." Nihlus said offhandedly. "But it seemed the Council chose the cowardly route."

"Those vagrants needed to learn a lesson." Saren said darkly.

"So leaving them to the cold emptiness of space without a home is the answer?"

Saren only scoffed, not answering with Nihlus sighing.

"Let's not discuss this matter right now."

The older Spectre nodded, beginning to eat his own meal.

"Still, it's good to know the Council is thinking with their heads this time and not their blind optimism." Saren said. "It's time we show the galaxy that if they are to trifle with us, we are not to be taken lightly."

"Maybe." Nihlus murmured. "Maybe…"

"You still hold reservations?"

"Not on the Expedition." Nihlus said. "But on what we will encounter out there. We may get lucky and be greeted by a new species that wishes to join us in peace. Or we could encounter an entirely hostile race with technology far superior to ours and they could completely decimate us in war."

"Do you truly believe that?" Saren asked incredulously. "We are the most advanced collection-"

"That we are aware of." Nihlus cut his mentor and friend off. "We've been stuck here in our corner of the galaxy enjoying a blissful life of knowing we were the dominant faction. But are we really? The Rachni and Krogan proved how fragile we can be. And who knows how the Yahg would have turned out had we not cut them off."

Saren silently mulled over those words, finding it hard to find a justifiable reason to not worry. However, his former protege had a point.

There was no telling what they would encounter on the Expedition.

He knew in his gut that the Citadel would meet new space faring or even pre-space civilizations. That was just how the Universe was governed.

"Have you been hanging around Salarians again? Maybe some Duros?" Saren wryly asked after a moment of silence, making Nihlus chortle.

"I've hung around enough of both to have some of their tendencies rub off on me, unfortunately." Nihlus jokingly admitted. "Now I question everything to make sure I get the full picture."

"Least you're not foolish about it." Saren praised. "That's a far cry better than what I've seen and dealt with."

"I'll take that unusual compliment." Nihlus said, raising his glass with Saren doing the same.

As the two Spectres ate and caught up, another reunion was taking place in another part of the Citadel.

A ship arriving on the Citadel containing a great deal of tired but hearty scientists and archaeologists was back after an extended excavation to relax.

Among them was a young Asari Maiden who was gazing around the port that she had just walked on to.

It didn't take long for her to hear two girls call out her name and for her to have two bodies nearly tackle her to the ground.

This sensation, however, was very familiar to the Asari with her arms instinctively wrapping themselves around the two that had tackled her.

"Ahsoka, Mission." The Asari happily said, hugging the two close. "I've missed you both so much."

"How do you think we feel, Liara?" Ahsoka said, squeezing her Asari sister/friend. "All we've been doing is train, train, train."

"We needed to see you, so badly." Mission Vao bemoaned, rubbing her forehead against Liara's cheek.

Liara T'soni only chuckled aloud. "I see. So I'm just an excuse to get away from training."

"Absolutely." Both her friends said in mock seriousness.

Their Asari friend only laughed, tightening her hug on the two briefly before letting go.

"Come on." Ahsoka said, looping her arm with Liara's right one. "There's a new TTAZ restaurant that just opened up and I'm starving."

Leading the trio over to said new restaurant, the girls were soon seated and enjoying one another's company whilst digging into their meals.

"I hope you two have been enjoying your time in the academy." Liara said pleasantly.

"It's sooo hard." Vao bemoaned, dramatically leaning against the table. "Masters Plo and Aayla drill us day in and day out."

"Is it not the most prestigious Biotic academy in the galaxy?" Liara asked in amusement.

"One of them." Ahsoka said with her finger raised. "But I know for a fact that the best ones are definitely on Master Plo's homeworld of Dorin. I mean, have you seen their archives? They have scrolls that have been preserved for centuries!"

"That would be a fascinating journey." Liara admitted.

Much as many would claim that the TTAZ people were the most proficient in Biotics, everyone knew that the title of Biotic masters belonged to the Kel-Dor race for a reason. Extensive training, experimentation and a fundamental understanding of Biotics on the pragmatic, spiritual and mental level makes them the premiere Biotic users across the galaxy.

"But what about you?" Mission said, perking up immediately. "You've been digging in fields and caves for two years now. You must have found something to talk about."

"Aside from a few new Prothean ruins, there were several new dig sights around those indescribable Forerunner artifacts."

"Those again?" Ahsoka said in surprise, leaning back into her seat with her arms crossed in contemplation. "Wonder what they're all about."

"We've been trying to understand them for years." Liara said. "Though to no avail. Only a few things have come up and the main predominant factor is that these Forerunner ruins predate the Prothean more than a hundred thousand years ago."

"They're _older?_ " Ahsoka said in slight surprise. "I never knew that."

"It is quite fascinating that their technology and structures are older than the Protheans." Liara remarked. "But we just can't seem to get them to work or activate."

"What do you think it is that's preventing this?" Mission asked with Liara showing that she was none the wiser.

"We do not know." Liara said. "Perhaps we can discover their lost secrets the more we dig."

Ahsoka and Mission only hummed in agreement as food was placed before them.

"Maybe we've just exhausted our areas here." Liara remarked, talking mostly to herself.

"So what're you gonna do?"

"I don't know." Liara said. "But our duty is to the Prothean excavation site. The Forerunner ruins come second."

Ahsoka hummed aloud in thought.

"What about the two of you?" Liara asked. "How has training been going under Master Plo Koon?"

"He's been ramping it up recently." Mission said with a puff of her cheeks, resting her chin against the table. "Told us he needed us ready."

"Ready? Whatever for?" Liara inquired, thrown off by such a statement.

"He wasn't really specific as to why." Ahsoka admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "Just that he and Master Aayla are gonna be upping out training."

"And he was weirdly specific about it." Mission brought up, scrunching up her face in thought. "Something about us being ready in the next three years or something like that."

Liara couldn't help but freeze at the particular mention of the three years Vao just brought up for the training her two friends were to undergo.

"Wh-why did Master Plo say that time specifically?" Liara asked with her two friends shrugging in response.

Ahsoka and Mission both shrugged at the same time.

"Not sure but he did mention something about real challenges after those three years." Mission remarked.

"As if training wasn't challenging enough." Ahsoka said with puffed cheeks.

Liara glanced around for the briefest of moments, gauging to see if anyone was listening before she leaned forward.

"There's something I wish to tell the both of you." Liara said in a low voice, almost conspiratorial.

This of course caught her friends attention in an instant.

They seldom ever saw their friend behave in such a manner and whatever it was she wanted to say must be pretty serious.

"What is it?" Vao asked in intrigue.

"I am unsure if you are aware of this or not," Liara said, eyeing them both. "But there are some major _developments_ occurring by the Council."

Ahsoka and Mission exchanged quizzical looks with one another.

"What does The Council have to do with this?" Ahsoka inquired.

Liara hesitated slightly before nodding to herself. "The Council is planning for an ambitious expedition within the next three years. An expedition into the unknown and unexplored regions of our galaxy. Within the next _three years._ "

This got quite the reactions out of her two friends as their jaws dropped and eyes widened. Liara quickly tapped her fingers to her lips rapidly in order to remind them both to keep quiet about their incoming reactions.

"Are you serious?" Ahsoka whispered excitedly.

"Yes, and if I am to take a guess, Master Plo Koon is among those selected to go on this expedition." Liara said with a small smile.

"Goddess." Mission murmured. "So _that's_ why Master Plo is ticking up our training, isn't it?"

"There is a likely chance." Liara agreed. "He is the Grand Master of the Biotics Academy on the Citadel and in Council Space. He was possibly among the first to be approached."

"But if he's been chosen, why train us up then?" Ahsoka inquired. "You don't think that…"

"He might be preparing you both." Liara surmised. "And taking you with him when the Expedition is officially announced."

"But why us?" both her friends asked at the same time.

Liara only smiled kindly at the two.

"I think it should be rather obvious." Liara said knowingly. "You are his prized pupils. The future of his academy and Biotics in general. Why wouldn't he take you?"

Ahsoka and Mission appeared quite bashful after hearing such praise until the latter's expression changed into that of curiosity.

"Say… Liara."

"Hmmm?"

"How do you know about this Expedition?"

"Oh." Liara flushed slightly at the question. "A majority of my team, during our excavation of the Prothean dig site was selected for the upcoming Expedition. They believed that since there is an assembled group of individuals familiar with excavating ruins and old technology, they may as well recruit the one's already on the job."

Ahsoka grinned at that. "Well, looks like you qualified by default cause of your talent."

Their Asari friend smiled kindly at hearing that while dipping her head down.

"Did…" Mission suddenly appeared hesitant. "Did you hear from your mother about any of this?"

Liara kept her head down as she shook it left and right.

"Haven't spoken to her in a while."

Ahsoka and Mission gazed upon their friend with sad expressions, both reaching out to grasp her hands.

Liara silently looked back up to them with a sad smile yet her eyes conveyed gratitude towards them both.

As the trio of friends conversed and ate with one another, within the chamber of the Council, they were ratifying and finalizing the long list of individuals that were to be involved within the Exploratory Expeditionary.

At the top of the list were the key individuals that they had listed down that would play major parts in leading the Expedition overall.

The Citadel Exploratory Expedition Leadership Council.

Nensel Jul The Duros Leader of the Expedition who is to coordinate the overall trajectory of their foray into the unexplored regions of the Galaxy.

Desolas Arterius, the Turian Military Commander of all Expeditionary Forces.

Hetchkee of the Kel-Dor armada was selected as the Naval Admiral with his partner Droyo Thaok of the Drell race as the Grand General.

For an Asari Matriarch, the venerable Ishara was selected to be the newly anointed Pathfinder of the Expedition Team. The title of Pathfinder meant she would be one of the leading figures in primarily meeting new species and either teaching them how to assimilate to the Citadels customs or learning of the cultures of the new species.

The Head/Director of Science was the influence mad Salarian genius of Lumont Hayjer.

And at last, the Captain of the Core Spire, the flagship of the Expeditionary force was the famed pilot and captain Pag'Hewu, a green skinned Twi'lek being a graduate of the Biotics Academy on the Citadel.

With this roster of some of the best of the best that represents the various Citadel Species, the Council had a growing sense of confidence and assurance as they at last finalized the Expeditionary Exploratory Force of the Citadel.

Whilst they knew others would join in their growing list of selected individuals, once this Expedition became public, there would be an influx of recruits and volunteers.

But for now, they were satisfied with what they have right now.

They would continue on with their daily lives, planning for the future and such, continuing to remain blissfully unaware as to the goings on within the unexplored regions of space from their perspective.

And speaking of which…

_-UNSC Midway-_

Admiral Preston Cole stood within the war room of the flagship of his fleet, the Punic-class Supercarrier Midway.

With him were several other high ranking Naval officers like his good friends Admiral Ackbar, Commander Raddus, Captain Grun Whell, and Captain James Cutter.

These five high rankings officers were gathered together after a brief but intense campaign over the colony world of Eden Prime.

Earlier in the month of August, Covenant scouts were spotted on the planet surface indicating a coming invasion.

This in turn led to the arrival of a sizable Covenant force which resulted in a heated ground engagement which ended up being a hard fought and bloody UNSC victory.

It was a welcomed victory after the devastating loss they had suffered on Alzoc III back in February of this year. The battle was two months long but all they had was 1 million casualties added to their growing list of losses.

This was a damnably hard war though that should come as an obvious expectation.

It's war after all.

Currently, they were discussing their next course of action primarily the trajectory of the Covenant and what they can do in countering their aggressive push across the outer colonies.

"We can only hold out for so long." Ackbar stated. "Too frequent of losses and not enough victories."

"Agreed." Raddus grumbled out. "Even with our victory on Eden Prime, we lost 40 percent of our forces."

"It's been primarily defensive." Cutter pointed out. "Every single engagement that has occurred was done on our turf. The Covenant always finds _us."_

Cole hummed aloud. "A telling sign that no matter how far we have come, there's still much we have to work on."

"Are there no means of finding them?" Raddus inquired. "We can't just allow them to keep stumbling upon one planet after another. Even when they lose, it really isn't that much of a setback if they are to simply move on and find another world."

Grun Whell let out several growls and barks which made the collective frown.

"True." Cutter murmured. "But that also exposes us to risk. Some of our best have deduced that any tech that's salvaged from the Covenant is traceable."

Grun continued on.

"It's only a working theory." Ackbar stated. "We won't know for sure for the foreseeable future."

"We don't have the luxury for relying on theories at this very moment." Cole said grimly. "They may come into play at a later time and date, hopefully sooner than later, but right now we need to consider more immediate actions."

The group continued discussing the matters of war, one of many across UNSC controlled space.

All the while, near the planet of Mars, ONI operatives with top scientists are studying a strange structure of unknown origin and design.

It is unlike anything they had seen before, at first comparing it to other ancient structures that had been uncovered scattered throughout the colonies.

But this one was distinctly different.

They just needed to figure out what it was.

And as many events were in motion at once, on the planet of Reach, a man of ambition gazed upon multiple video files that were captured and showed the escalating war across the stars.

In particular, he was reviewing the footage of specific individuals who were caught performing acts of strength, speed and superhuman feats across multiple battlefields.

The man sneered in contempt at the sight of them all.

He recognized _her_ work.

Being someone who had multiple connections within ONI, James Ackerman was well aware as to _what_ and _who_ these armored beings were.

Being the liaison between ONI and the army allowed him such awareness of the more unethical aspects of ONI.

And that would be putting it mildly.

Ackerman had been well aware of the Spartan-II program for a number of years by this point, having heard some rather fascinating facts about them.

The man scoffed to himself,

These Spartan-II's were nothing more than prototypes to what will succeed them.

It may take another year or two, but Ackerman was completely confident in his work and that ONI will approve of it.

If they gave the approval of kidnapping children, then recruiting them, particularly those with nowhere to go, shouldn't cause that much of a stir either.

**Alright, been a slight while but yeah, at last.**

**I meant to get this out way,** _**WAY** _ **sooner but a litany of things got in my way.**

**For starters, new story I got with our comrade Jebest4781 called I'm Nobody which I want you guys to check out.**

**And second, I got a brand new job that's taking up a lot of my time right now and is limiting my writing process for the most part so I'll need a bit of time to readjust. Especially after the writing bender J and I went off for two months straight, getting 24 chapters out with 425K+ words in that amount of time.**

**After we decided to calm down and take a breather from our newest story, not gonna lie, coming back to this story and other works had made my brain go "Oh God, I forgot how to write this one".**

**So gonna need to just snap back into it really.**

**May take a bit of time but hopefully will get back into the groove of it. Spirit Unto Dawn is another story BSX and I will be returning to soon enough.**

**It's just that Bullet gave me a suggestion for a very short 8 to 10 chapter story that we will be getting to very soon which holds a great deal of importance once it's released so keep your eyes open for it.**

**On top of that, BSX had also concocted an idea wherein he, me and Jebest4781 will eventually get around to working on.**

**Lots of future projects and content in the works. All I ask for comrades is patience for good things come to those who wait.**

**Anywho, good to be back for the most part. Hope I can semi-update consistently with this one and my other stories and collaborations.**

**Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.**


End file.
